Born in 1997 in Uvira, Kivu (DRC), Fariala Alolea Albert – his real name – arrived in the Central African Republic at a very young age, where his parents had sought refuge due to the war. He began singing at a very early age. In 2013, he recorded his very first track, “Je Suis Élève”, and adopted his stage name: RAFIKI - RH2O. He discovered filmmaking in 2017 during a documentary filmmaking course organised by Ateliers Varan in Bangui, which proved to be a real revelation for him. Whilst studying economics at the University of Bangui, he directed We, Students! a feature-length documentary selected for the Berlinale in 2022, before embarking on a world tour of film festivals where he won numerous awards. Congo Boy is his first feature film, selected for the Official Competition – Un Certain Regard at Cannes.
Filmography: We, Students ! (2022, documentary), Mbi Na Mo (2018, short film)
