‘Congo Boy’ Is an Autobiographical and Musical Refugee Drama. Its Director Has More in the Works.

Robert is a 17-year-old Congolese refugee in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic (CAR). After his parents are imprisoned, he must care for his four younger siblings while striving to become a musician. That is the story of Congo Boy from director Rafiki Fariala. But it is also his, or at least inspired by his personal story. The landmark co-production by the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and the CAR, which world premiered in the Un Certain Regard competition of the Cannes Film Festival, where it won its star Bradley Fiomona Dembeasset the best actor honor in the session, is now unspooling on the big outdoor…