John K-ay (born 3 July 1992 as Jean-Marie Ndayishimiye in Burundi) is a Burundian Australian film director, producer, and actor, currently known for his great action film “Cop’s enemy” featured Ghanaian best actor of all time, Van Vicker.

His Early life

John K-ay was born 3 July 1992 in Ruyigi Province as Jean-Marie Ndaysihimiye to farmer Stephanie Hakizimana and teacher Elize Gahungu, as one of nine children. The family fled to Tanzania in late 1993 after the assassination of Melchior Ndadaye, which would go on to cause the Burundian Civil War, settling in a UNHCR refugee camp where they remained for eleven years.

The family applied for refugee status in Australia in 2006 and arrived in Sydney in March 2007, before settling in Perth, where he finished high school in 2010. During high school, he was a founding member of prominent artistic group Tao Boiz Crew.

His Career

K-ay began his career in filmmaking and music in 2010, releasing his directorial film debut Last Tears for a Lost Destination (2011), before releasing Nothing Is Impossible (2012), both of which are heavily influenced by his experiences as a migrant, particularly the latter which details the peculiarities noticed by migrants in Australia.

John K-ay returned to Sydney to further his career in 2015, attending NIDA and releasing his debut single I Love You Mum, along with two short films Restoring Hope and Silent Sufferers. The next year, in conjunction with irokotv, K-ay released Irreversible Choices, for which he won nominations for Best Director and Producer at the AAMMA awards in 2016 and at the Cineplay TV awards in 2017.

His works and awards won

John is best known for his educative films “Nothing is Impossible (2012), Restoring Hope (2015), Silent Sufferers (2015), and Irreversible Choices (2016). In 2015, his music video, “I Love You Mum” was aired on television and went viral on social media.

He received an award for best influential African Australian 2016, a Best Director and Producer at the AAMMA Awards in 2016, and a Cineplay TV awards in New York in 2017.

He was widely known for his Cop’s Enemy film with Ghanian actor Van Vicker released in January 2018.