When Victor Kamwendo moved to Los Angeles after graduating from IU South Bend, he was hoping to establish a career as an actor and producer-director. So far, so good: the acting roles continue to accrue, and his offscreen skills have now earned him an Emmy nomination.
Alongside his collaborators, producer Danielle Blevins and director David Darg, Kamwendo worked on a six-part documentary series for the Olympic Channel called Playing Fields.
Each episode tells the story of a trailblazing athlete from across the continent of Africa, and the Sports Emmy nomination for Outstanding Long Feature went to the one titled “Ornella,” which follows the unlikely journey of boxer Ornella Havyarimana as she overcame numerous obstacles on her way to becoming the first female pugilist from Burundi to represent her country internationally at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Although he did not win the Emmy this time, the accolade is unlikely to be Kamwendo’s last.
He was born in Blantyre, Malawi, and moved to South Bend with his siblings when he was 13. His parents, though supportive, were unable to join them, so his path to life and education in America was certainly nontraditional. He attended Penn High School, and during his senior year he was cast in Oscar Wilde’s Salome in a production directed by the internationally acclaimed Anton Juan at the University of Notre Dame in 2006. It was his first role, and for a beginner to be immediately involved with theater at such a high level was hugely impactful.
“During that time, I was still figuring out what I wanted to do once I got to college,” Kamwendo says.
He continued to crave theatrical opportunities as he began his time at IU South Bend, but he tailored his classes with a criminal justice major in mind. During his first year, he did another play with Juan at Notre Dame, as well as his first show as a Titan: Godspell. There were more to come, including West Side Story, The Taming of the Shrew, Kiss Me Kate, and even the ballet Swan Lake with the IUSB Dance Company.
“They were all great experiences, but what really got me going was A Raisin in the Sun,” he says.
Lorraine Hansberry’s play captivated Kamwendo, and the director was visiting artist Walter Allen Bennett Jr., who had been a writer for The Cosby Show. He became a crucial mentor.
“He’s one of the first people who put the idea in my head that I should come to Los Angeles,” Kamwendo says. “I had originally only considered Chicago or New York if I were to continue on the theater route.”
Another advisor who encouraged Kamwendo to commit to a professional theater career was Dr. Marvin Curtis, who was the Dean of the Raclin School of the Arts.
“I was still thinking about going into criminal justice, and it was Dean Curtis who sat me down and told me that he could tell that where I wanted to be was on stage, and I needed to go full time with it,” Kamwendo says. “He was always so attentive, so supportive. He and (theatre professor) Randy Colborn pushed me, called me out, and gave me the guidance I needed.”
Since moving to L.A., Kamwendo has done stage acting with the Loft Ensemble and his IMDb profile is piling up credits as writer-director-producer as well as actor.
“I will continue to do both. I love acting, and I will never stop acting,” he says. “And now I can be more choosy about the stuff that I want to do. On the producing side, I’ve learned so much about the business involved in entertainment. Knowing all that has opened up different layers and avenues of the industry.”
Recently, Kamwendo was on the production team for a documentary called Daughters, which was already premiered at the Sundance Film Festival. It makes its Netflix debut on August 14.
Curtis is still monitoring all of this.
“To this day, he calls me and texts me,” Kamwendo says. “Every time I return to South Bend, I have lunch with Dean Marvin Curtis.”
