Not so long ago when 25-year-old Abouba Iradukunda, commonly known as Yvan Films, realized that he would make a big name for himself in acting. His talent quickly pushed him to the spotlight as soon as people started to watch him on the screens acting in various movies, some of which are among the most popular in Rwanda. In fact, he one of the actors whose rise has gone so quick. If you are a fan of Rwanda’s top series like ‘Bamenya’, ‘City Maid’, ‘The bishop’s Family’ or ‘Agahinda ka Liza’, ‘Maya’ and ‘Isi Dutuye,’ Iradukunda’s face must be familiar to you. He even took his career beyond acting, having also written and directed his first film ‘Indushyi’. At first, the actor’s parents didn’t welcome his idea of venturing into an acting career. They were worried that the least it would bring him is trouble. They were also concerned that fame would change their child. But he convinced them that he wanted to do acting only for his own good. “They were so worried about what I would become after getting famous. They were not happy in the first place but they later started to support me after they later on realized that acting never changed me,” he told The New Times. He then signed a contract to act in the first film after a film director offered him to act in his movie. He recalls joining acting as an unplanned path that later on became a passion. A post made by his friend led to a director asking for his contact because he looked like someone he needed in her new film. “One of my friends posted me and a Rwandan director asked him what I do. Asked why she was interested about me, she said that she wanted to cast me in her film because I looked like someone she wanted in her script,” he recalls. Gracefully he went for the it and with time he came to feel like he was in a career that all along he was supposed to be in. “I came to realize that I am in a place, where I belong and I love seeing myself in front of camera,” he said. Iradukunda holds the Best Actor of the year award for that he received from Rwanda international movie Awards in 2023. He now has eyes set on exploring more opportunities at the international market. He believes Rwandan cinema has tremendously improved and grown over the years, thanks to the individuals in production that keep pushing the industry forward.
