The premiere of  “Congo Boy” on Friday was like no other the Cannes Film Festival has ever seen, with director Rafiki Fariala–who also wrote its catchy soundtrack–breaking into song to introduce his cast and crew.
The unlikely feelgood movie about a teenage Congolese refugee who has to bring up his brothers and sisters alone during the Central African Republic’s bloody civil war, was hailed as a “delight” and a “total crowd-pleaser” by critics.
The rousing tale closely follows 28-year-old Fariala’s own trajectory, of rising from absolute poverty — and surviving being shot by militiamen — to becoming a local rap star.
It’s so closely based on his life, Fariala told AFP that the Muslim woman he calls his Aunt Zara plays herself in the film.
Fariala even used real-life soldiers and militiamen for the terrifying “authenticity they brought to screen” when he shot the film on a shoestring in the capital Bangui with a cast of non-professionals.
Born in South Kivu in the war-torn east of the Democratic Republic of Congo, Fariala said the film is also an ode to his adopted homeland.
“For me the Central African Republic is, as I say in the song (in the film), my mother hen, my adoptive mother,” he told AFP.
“I’m Congolese, but I’m also Central African at heart. It’s my country. So the film is also a tribute to that mother who protected me.”