With both his parents in prison, Robert (Fiomona Dembeasset) is left to raise his siblings, while balancing school, work, and his passion for music. This proves difficult, more so for him because he and his family are refugees from the Democratic Republic Congo living in the Central African Republic. He keeps this a secret from his friends and employers, but when pressures keep mounting, Robert leans into his heritage to push himself forward.
Rafiki Fariala’s Congo Boy, which is based on his own life, reveals the realities of young people who find themselves in new lands through no choice of their own, and who must navigate building their own lives while holding the dreams of the people around them. Striking that balance is hard enough, but is compounded in the lives of displaced people like Robert who also have to navigate laws and systems that limit what they are able to participate in and how.
Congo Boy asks the question, ‘who has permission to pursue their dreams?’ It makes me wonder how many dreams our societies – ravaged by war, corruption and greed – have choked out before they have even taken complete form. The youthfulness of its characters really highlights the direness of their situation, children being forced to be adults in ways that many adults across the world don’t even have to, but Congo Boy is also filled with their hope – their willingness to dream big, and the tenacity they possess to go after them. The film also has some beautiful music moments that drive its message and is an overall hopeful film about persevering through adversity.
Congo Boy is playing at TIFF ’26. For more information, click here.
