Marlon Samuda is on a roll.

And the world of film-making and acting has already started to see the positive effects of the hard work invested by this rising Jamaican star in that version of the arts.

Samuda walked tall at the recent 10th annual Atlantic City Cinefest, winning the Best Actor (Short Drama) award during the world premiere of the short film, Immigrant Brothers. Samuda wrote and played one of the lead roles in the film.

Now, Samuda, son of well-known lawyer and former president of the Jamaica Chamber of Commerce, Milton Samuda, has set his sights on even greater accomplishments that he believes will be achieved, what with a solid investment in the zeal with which he has approached his objectives.

“It’s an honour to have received the award,” the 25-year-old told the Jamaica Observer from his London residence last week. “I’m just humbled and glad that I got the award. I worked really hard to make this film happen.”

The Atlantic City Cinefest is an independent film festival based in Atlantic City, New Jersey dedicated to screening North American films. It screened at the Dante Hall Theatre on October 15.

Samuda, a Hillel Academy alumnus, graduated from the New York Film Academy in 2014 with a Master of Fine Arts in Acting for Film.

Long before that achievement, he read for a Bachelor of Arts Degree at the University of The West Indies, Mona Campus, graduating with honours after majoring in entertainment and cultural enterprise management, in 2012.

And later, putting his first film on the market beckoned.

When the idea for the film, Immigrant Brothers was thrown on the table, it was only a matter of time before he and his colleagues would, in the Jamaican parlance, ‘run with it’.

“We were coming back from a beach trip and had over 20 sandwiches left. Instead of them becoming leftovers, sharing them with friends or throwing them away, we decided to give them to the homeless of Hollywood. If anyone has walked in Hollywood, you know how many homeless people are there. Even though the story is fiction, the motivation for it is real,” he said of the production.

Immigrant Brothers is a snapshot of the intertwined lives of three homeless, illegal immigrants desperately trying to survive on the unforgiving streets of Los Angeles. They are not related by blood, but by adversity and circumstance.

The film’s synopsis outlines ‘Immigrant Brothers as the story of three homeless immigrants — a Jamaican, Mexican and Syrian — who try to survive on the streets of Los Angeles, California.

“The brothers are not related biologically, but by adversity and circumstance. The brothers usually get their ‘income’ from begging,” the synopsis stated. “One day they get robbed and they have no money to buy food for the next week. Down on their luck, they go out the next day with different agendas in mind.

“Immigrant Brothers is about brotherhood, homelessness, immigration and utter desperation. The struggle is real and the help is non-existent,” ended the synopsis.

The film, with the tag line ‘Desperate times call for desperate brothers’, is directed by award-winning Brazilian director, Nicholas Cunha and was produced by Samuda, Nicholas Cunha, Nicole Fahel, Valeria Silva and Paula Soveral. Samuda wrote and played one of the lead characters in the short film.

Immigrant Brothers won Best Drama Film at the European Cinematography Awards recently and was a finalist at the Eurasia International Monthly Film Festival. It will also have its oceanic premiere at the Sanctuary Cove International Film Festival in Australia next month.

The film’s director Nicholas Cunha said in his statement on the production, that “ Immigrant Brothers tells a story that goes deeper than just friendship. It brings awareness to the situation of our homeless, immigrant youth community, who go through so much. In order to survive, they sometimes have to sacrifice their dignity. This is done through a compelling visual and emotional ride that is Immigrant Brothers.”

Cunha is the son of well-known journalist Raimundo Lima. He was born in Manhattan, New York, and directed his first short film at age 19 — Outdated. That was followed by the film Daisy by the time he turned 20.

Last year he won the award for Best International Short Film at LABRFF for the production Red Souls In all, he has directed seven short films.

For Samuda, who is represented by Atwell Artists Management, he is looking forward to developing other projects while reflecting on the many challenges that he faced while he braced to put Immigrant Brothers on the world stage.

“Because I was also providing it, I had to dedicate a lot of my time to producing. It was challenging to do both, but I am happy that I devoted the time to it.

“In January I will be shooting a feature film in Brazil… I should get the full script in December. In that, I will have a supporting role,” he told the Sunday Observer.

But can he continue to play more than one role in the demanding job of producing films?

“Acting is my main focus, so ideally, I would like to focus more on that. The industry is very hard, and one of the best ways to go forward is to produce your own work,” Samuda said.

For now, there will be no public screenings as the film is in festival rotation, but a private screening for family, friends and colleagues will be held.

And speaking of family, they continue to give him the tonic that he requires to keep energised.

“My family is very supportive of all my endeavours. They know this industry is tough and they are glad that I am gaining recognition,” he stated.

Among the awards and selections won by Immigrant Brothers are:

European Cinematography Awards — Best Drama Short Film;

Gold Movie Awards Goddess Nike — Best Producer;

Atlantic City Cinefest — World premiere & Best Actor Short Drama (Marlon Samuda);

Sanctuary Cove International Film Festival — Oceanic premiere — Finalist;

Eurasia International Monthly Film Festival — Finalist;

Los Angeles Cinefest — Finalist for Best Poster;

US Hollywood International Golden Film Awards — Official Selection.