Outsider Pictures Takes U.S. on Rafiki Fariala’s Award-Winning Cannes Hit ‘Congo Boy’ (EXCLUSIVE)

Sep 1, 2026 7:02am PT Outsider Pictures Takes U.S. on Rafiki Fariala’s Award-Winning Cannes Hit ‘Congo Boy’ (EXCLUSIVE)

The film, inspired by Fariala's own experience as a young refugee, unspools at Toronto and is set for a 2027 U.S. release

By Ed Meza

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Ed Meza

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'Congo Boy' Courtesy of The Party Film Sales/Outsider Pictures

Santa Monica-based Outsider Pictures has picked up Rafiki Fariala’s award-winning Cannes title “Congo Boy” for the U.S. ahead of its North American premiere at Toronto.

Courtesy of Makongo Films/Unité/Kiripifilms/Karta Film/Canal+

The film bowed in Cannes’ Un Certain Regard, where it won Bradley Fiomona the best actor prize for his role as 17-year-old Robert, whose family was forced to flee the Democratic Republic of Congo for the neighboring Central African Republic. With his parents are imprisoned, Robert does what he can to care for his four younger siblings while attending high school, hoping to get into medical school and finding musical success despite all the odds stacked against him.

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