Dominic Kanaventi
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Dominic Kanaventi | |
|---|---|
| Born | |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1980s to present |
Dominic Kanaventi is a Zimbabwean film and stage actor. He has appeared in Shamwari in 1982, Mandela, Cry Freedom in 1987 and The Midday Sun in 1989. He has had major roles in Neria, released in 1993 and Salone, released in 2016. He was also president of the Zimbabwe Actors Guild (ZAG).
Kanaventi started out as a stage actor. In the early years he was a member of the Catholic sponsored drama center, the Mabvuku Youth Center.[1] In film, he had parts in Shamwari and Cry Freedom, both films in the 1980s. In 1992, he had a leading role in Neria, and by 2001, he had acted in 14 productions.[2]
As of 1997, Kanaventi was the president of ZAG, which is the Zimbabwe Actors Guild. He has been outspoken about the exploitation of Zimbabwean actors and the disparity between them and their other counterparts.[3][4]
In an interview with Alan Tempest for The Standard, he said that he had until January 2002 before he would be formally declared a stateless person. This apparently came about as Kanaventis father was born in Mozambique. He had walked all the way to Salisbury as it was called then, and married his mother. Kanaventi was born in October 1950.[5] As a result of his statelessness, he emigrated to the United States in April 2002. He worked as a furniture salesman and car salesman and on the way became a US citizen in 2009. He also became a student and in December 2014, he completed his B.S. in Marketing Management. He then became the CEO of a consultancy firm.[6]