Oscars 2027: DRC selects 'Rumba Royale', starring Fally Ipupa, for its second-ever submission

The Democratic Republic of Congo has selected 'Rumba Royale' to represent the country in the Best International Feature Film category at the 99th Academy Awards, according to an announcement made in Kinshasa and reported by Radio Okapi on October 9, 2026. As noted by the website Lebledparle, this is only the second time in its history that the country has submitted a film to the Academy, following 'Macadam Tribu' in 1997.

Leopoldville 1959, months before independence

Directed by Yohane Dean Lengol and Hamed Mobasser, with a screenplay by Kevin Dwyer, the film is set in 1959 in colonial-era Leopoldville, just months before Congo's independence. Fally Ipupa plays Danel, a bohemian photographer who documents the city's nightlife; it is his first major film role, according to Lebledparle. The plot centers on a rumba club where artists, colonial figures, and residents with conflicting ambitions clash over politics, art, and identity.

Alongside Fally Ipupa, the 97-minute feature film stars Mélanie Bokata, Cécile Djunga, Patrick Kabundi, Hénoc Kyombo, Diane Uwamahoro, and Frenchman Olivier Loustau. It is distributed by Pathé Touch Afrique, which holds the pan-African rights, and was released on December 12, 2025. It was presented at the New York African Film Festival in May 2026, Lebledparle specifies.

'Dream big and be ambitious'

The selection was explained by the DRC Film Commission, coordinated by Cécilia Zoppelletto. She highlighted the quality of the cinematography: 'It is the quality of the photography,' she told Radio Okapi. The commission also praised the narrative and the reconstruction of late 1950s Leopoldville. The film also received the 'Leopard of the 7th Art,' the national award for best film.

Yohane Dean Lengol stated that this distinction 'also testifies to the ambition of Congolese cinema for the future' and issued a call to the youth: 'Dream big and be ambitious, dare!' The directors describe their film as a love letter to Congo, to Congolese rumba, and to African cinema.

The schedule

The Academy's shortlist is expected on December 15, 2026, and the nominations on January 21, 2027, according to Lebledparle. The 99th Oscars ceremony is scheduled for March 14, 2027, at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles, Radio Okapi reports.

Whether or not it makes the shortlist, the choice speaks volumes: to tell the story of the turning point of 1960, Kinshasa chose a film where rumba is not an exotic backdrop, but the very place where independence is debated.