Rumba Royale
New York African Film Festival 2026
May 6 - 12
In 1959 Léopoldville, as Belgian colonial rule nears its end, a young photographer (Congolese rumba star Fally Ipupa) documenting the city’s vibrant nightlife becomes entangled in the fragile social world of a legendary rumba nightclub.
In 1959 Léopoldville, the legendary Rumba Royale nightclub pulses with the rhythms of Congolese rumba in the final days of Belgian colonial rule. Daniel, a young photographer, captures the life of the club through his lens and grows close to Olive, an ambitious waitress with dreams beyond the dance floor. As personal ambitions, colonial hierarchies, and the city’s shifting political climate collide, the fragile world surrounding the nightclub begins to unravel. Congolese star Fally Ipupa, known as the “Prince of Rumba,” makes his big-screen debut in Hamed Mobasser and Yohane Dean Lengol’s captivating historical thriller.
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