JULIEN IRANKUNDA known as Julien Bmjizzo is a Rwandan music video director, filmmaker, and cinematographer currently based in Belgium. Recently, he worked as the director of a hit song, ‘Why’ by The Ben and Diamond Platnumz. The very first music project of his own as a video director was ‘Only You’ by The Ben ft Ben Kayiranga. “This project helped me to be more exposed on the spotlight of Rwanda music industry and other countries as director and my name got a big boost,” he told The New Times. Born in a family like his brother Christson, a gospel artiste Bmjizzo, in 2014, founded a company for music and film production dubbed ‘BproudMusic’ and established it in Belgium. The company mostly focuses on audio-visual productions and so far it has established its name in music video productions specifically. Since then, Julien has worked with several artistes with big names in the industry like The Ben, Diamond Platinumz, Marina, Social Mula, Big Fizzo, Bull Dog, Mico The Best, the late Jay Polly, and many more. Tanzanian singer Diamond Platinumz during the shooting. Photos/Courtesy When asked about how he managed to work on ‘Why’ by The Ben ft Diamond Platinumz, Julien replied, “Ever since I started my career, Diamond has been on the list of artistes I wanted to work with. It mostly seemed impossible until I sat in the same studio with him. That is when we discussed a lot and I was given a chance to comment on how I felt about that project and how working with him would be my dreams coming true.” He revealed that during the shooting both Diamond and The Ben were so helpful to him, and to his utter amazement, Diamond liked the final project a lot and congratulated the whole team behind it. Julien told this publication that, as a Rwandan based in Belgium, everything is complicated since he is not in his own country and that the competition tends to double. “Most of the challenges come when I meet a new artiste and so I have to learn to know him/her as soon as possible to be able to connect better. Normally, music is related to personal emotions so we cant stay professional all the time. I also have to learn to combine the both if I want to keep my relationship with every artiset since they all have different attitudes,” he said. As a person who has found his career path, he shared a message to all the young people who are yet to make it in life. “Work hard, focus on your dreams and believe in yourself. These are three phrases that have been my motivation ever since I started my career and I always use them whenever something is not going well. I work and learn to get better. Also make sure to properly use any chance you come across.” Julien Bmjizzo was born and raised in Rwanda. After finishing his primary school, he went to ESAPAG for secondary school till 2011 when he and his family relocated to Belgium. He continued his education in Belgium at a school called Vilgo, where he completed his high school education in Computer Science Management and Accounting. He later joined university and pursued Communication and Multimedia.
