This crowd-pleaser with heart centres around the director Rafiki Fariala’s own experience as a boy from the Congo growing up in desperate poverty in Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, with dreams of being a rap artist in the city’s wild night clubs (the film shot mostly at night). Although its cast is non-professional, the charismatic Bradley Fiomona Dembeasse won the Best Actor prize at Cannes Un Certain Regard for his performance as the titular Congo Boy, Robert. Such is the discrimination against Congolese immigrants, Robert has to hide the fact that he’s a refugee. His parents are in prison and his responsibilities are overwhelming. But where there’s rap, there’s hope, and life isn’t ever going to keep Robert down. Fariala’s film makes it abundantly clear how bleak the circumstances are for a boy like Robert, but also how life is full of potential, no matter where it’s lived. An irresistible, irrepressible film.