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Jordan Morris, also known as ‘Jordan Mars’, is not yet 30. At the time of this interview, that particular milestone is a week away, and to close out his 20s, he’s about to embark on a new chapter he hadn’t quite anticipated until just a few years ago.
A new filmmaker, Morris is the first-time writer-director of the short film Smile. A 2026 Greater August Town Film Festival (GATFFEST) Viewers’ Choice Award recipient, the film has been selected for the Screen Share programme at the 2026 CaribbeanTales Film Festival in Toronto, Canada. The story of how it got there and how it got made is a touching tribute.
When it came to making his debut film, Morris struggled with questions. “I had been thinking about making my first short film for years, but the problem I faced was: What do I want to talk about? What’s an important story I want to tell?” The answer came in 2023, when he became the owner of a house he inherited from his late grandparents. “Inheriting the house came with its own set of problems... . When I got it, the house was in the state you see now,” he shared. The home has only one floor, with a slab roof and notable damage to its exterior walls, particularly an indentation on the grill on the outside of a window. That damaged section of the home became the subject of Morris’ award-winning film. “I started to get fixated on that mashed-up grill. I always knew the story that my grandfather came home, drunk one night, and he reversed the truck and mashed up the burglar bar.” The story is one Morris remembers from his youth, but as he recalls his grandfather’s blunder, he can’t help but note the humour in the indelible mark left in the aftermath. “I thought it was kind of funny that he’s gone now, and that still don’t fix. He’s made a permanent indentation in the house.”
