CONGO BOY
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Bangui, Central African Republic. Robert, 17, dreams of a career in music, but civil war is tearing the country apart. When his parents are imprisoned, he is left alone to care for his four younger siblings, juggling daily life, odd jobs, school exams, and concert performances, determined to pursue his dream. Inspired by the personal story of filmmaker Rafiki Fariala and his family from Kivu in eastern DR Congo, who fled to Bangui, CONGO BOY is an intimate exploration of the hope, courage, and resilience of children of war.
CONGO BOY Direction: Rafiki Fariala, DCP, OmeU, 91 min
Guests
Tommy Baron is a screenwriter and director born in Cahors, France. At the age of 13, he made his first short films as machinima using video games. Until 2015, he worked as an editor for YouTube creators. A self-taught filmmaker, he gained experience in camera assisting, visual effects, and independent productions before studying screenwriting at La CinéFabrique in 2017. His first feature film, CONGO BOY, which he co-wrote and on which he served as First Assistant Director, premiered at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. Alongside his own writing and directing work, he has coordinated Gindou Cinéma’s screenwriting residencies, La Ruche and the Occitanie Feature Film Residency, since 2023.
Rafiki Fariala was born on November 17, 1997, in Uvira, Kivu (DR Congo). Due to the war, his family fled to the Central African Republic at an early age. In 2013, under the stage name Rafiki – RH2O, he released his first song, Je suis élève, which became a huge hit. In 2017, he discovered his passion for film through a documentary filmmaking program at the Ateliers Varan in Bangui. While studying economics, he directed NOUS, ÉTUDIANTS!, which premiered at the Berlinale in 2022 and won numerous international awards. CONGO BOY is his feature film debut and screened in the Un Certain Regard section at Cannes in 2026.