WHILE HIS PARENTS thought they were preparing him to be a successful engineer, Cedrick Karemangingo had a different dream, to become a video director in his mind. 

Born in Nyamirambo, Nyarugenge District, the 25-year-old is now regarded as one of the best video directors that Rwanda has in its ranks, having worked with different music superstars, concert organisers and established institutions.

His growing vision to learn more of his craft is an indication that he has a bright future in producing the best video contents not only in the country but also at the international level. 

In an interview with The New Times, the fast-rising video director shared his journey, his experience and aspirations for his career.

Excerpts:

Who is Karemangingo?

I am the second born in a family of four.

I am a high school graduate in Construction but I am a video director by profession. From documentaries and promotional videos to educational videos and video directing, I do everything that has to do with video under my company ‘Dric Entertainment’.

As a graduate in Construction, how did you end up in video directing? 

Studying construction wasn’t my choice, I wanted to do telecommunication. But I had to go for the former because my parents wanted me to. 

Despite doing construction, I spared some time to do part-time photography. To be honest, I was not committed to construction and everything to deal with it ended when I finished my high school and when I joined Contact TV I started doing graphics design and 3D animations. 

I later started directing the TV’s entertainment show called ‘Da Link’ where I would do the highlights of concerts to use during the show.

The TV, unfortunately, closed down and I decided to continue video directing because I was so passionate about it.

Many people in the entertainment industry have known me because of the video highlights that I make for different big concerts.

Which big names in music industry have you worked with so far?

My job is not limited to working with just musicians but with people working in events management, companies and institutions because I do so many things other than video directing for musicians. 

Actually music videos are the least I do because the video services I offer are beyond music.

I have worked with so many big musicians, local and foreign, mostly behind-the-scenes video highlights for their concerts.

The list is long but Rwandan musicians include Meddy, The Ben, Knowless and Israel Mbonyi among many.

I also worked with Burna Boy, Ya Levis, Malick Berry, Fally Ipupa, Sauti Sol, Patoranking, and many others.

What plans do have for your video directing career in the future?

First of all, my wish is that the new generation thrive in this career. I might have inspired some but I also want to train more young people and then employ them in my company. I can’t hire a video director in my company yet I can train my own students and enrich them with video directing skills.

I also want to empower young women and train those who aspire to do video directing as a career because this is an industry highly dominated by men. 

I started with my sister and I want to extend this initiative to the other young women.

If I successfully do these, then I will be sure I have the skills around me that can help do content that can compete internationally. 

So you don’t have any plans to work in construction ever?

No way! I was done with it when I finished secondary…and that should leave a lesson to parents to avoid making choices for their children but help them prepare and shape a career of their choice from their young age. 

Some parents out there are choosing careers for their children without even asking them which careers they want to follow. That mindset should change.

From my experience, if there is a career that generates a lot of income, it is art.

I sacrificed a lot to do what I love and it is really paying off both for me and my parents because they changed their mindset and, as a result, I have a sister who is doing video directing at my company and another is studying music at Nyundo School of Music.  

Have you had any challenges in this field? 

We have limited access to some things that I feel would benefit both video directors and the country in general. 

If a video director has limited access, for instance, to take videos at Kigali Convention Centre or the Canopy Walk or some cultural places, yet these videos by our artistes can reach every corner of the world, then I think it is a huge loss to our country which wants to attract a lot of tourists from different parts of the world.  

We also have a challenge of equipment that meet international standards of a quality video because they are so expensive for us, it would be a good idea if the government or private sector invest in such equipment, so we can at least afford to rent them.