Bermudian actor Earl Cameron will be honoured with a retrospective of his work at the tenth Bermuda International Film Festival next March.

Mr. Cameron, 89, will travel to the festival from his home in Warwickshire, England. As well as a selection of his films, the festival will also host a sit-down chat with him about his life and career.

Mr. Cameron followed an unlikely path to fame. Born in Pembroke in 1917, he joined the Merchant Navy and sailed mostly between New York and South America before the outbreak of World War Two resulted in the Royal Navy diverting his ship to the UK.

Unable to get back to Bermuda without a passport, he took a job. Two years later, while working in the kitchen of a restaurant, he saw a play in the West End, Chu Chin Chow. A few weeks later, a walk-on part in the play opened up - and Mr. Cameron, who had friends in the production, stepped into the role. The play ran until 1946, becoming what at the time was the longest-running musical in the West End.

His breakthrough film role was as the merchant seaman Johnny in (1950). Set in post-war London, the film involved racial prejudice, romance, and a diamond robbery. Mr. Cameron won much critical acclaim for his performance.

He also starred in (1955) and low-budget crime drama (1957). His most famous early screen roles were in two melodramas that attempted to confront the issue of racism in Britain: (1959) and (1961). He also appeared in the 1965 James Bond film,

A member of the Baha?i faith, Mr. Cameron stepped away from his acting career in 1979 to move to the Solomon Islands, where he assisted the Baha?i community there. He returned to the UK in 1994 and came out of silver screen retirement in 2004 to play the role of African despot Edmund Zuwanie in Sydney Pollack?s and can be seen in the current theatrical release, directed by Stephen Frears and starring Helen Mirren.

He has also starred in numerous stage plays, television series and radio broadcasts.

?We are delighted that we will be welcoming Mr. Cameron home on the occasion of the festival?s tenth anniversary,? said the festival?s deputy director, Duncan Hall. ?Having a ?son of the soil? as one of our featured guests will be one of the highlights of festival week.?

Among the accolades bestowed on Mr. Cameron during his long career include a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Bermuda Arts Council in 1999 and a retrospective by the prestigious National Film Theatre in London in 2002.