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Location: Maysles Documentary Center is located at 343 Lenox Avenue (Malcolm X Blvd) between 127th & 128th Streets in Manhattan.

Date: October 23, 2026

Time: 7:00 PM - 9:30PM EST

CREDITS (Credits, Year, Runtime, Languages / with English subtitles): Yohane Dean Lengol and Hamad Mobasser, 2025, 97 min., French with English subtitles

RUMBA ROYALE

Yohane Dean Lengol and Hamad Mobasser, 2025, 97 min., French with English subtitles

Set in Léopoldville in 1959, on the eve of Congolese independence, RUMBA ROYALE follows Daniel, a young photographer who documents the city’s vibrant nightlife at a legendary rumba club. Inspired by the photographs of Jean Depara, whose images captured the clubs, musicians, and social life of 1950s Léopoldville, the film recreates a city where Congolese and European patrons mingle as political tensions mount. When Daniel’s girlfriend Olive is found dead, he becomes the prime suspect and must navigate a web of secrets while confronting the realities of colonial rule. Starring Congolese rumba star Fally Ipupa in his first leading film role, RUMBA ROYALE also evokes the legacy of Papa Wemba, who starred in the landmark 1987 film LA VIE EST BELLE, linking two generations of Congolese musicians who have brought rumba to the screen.

YOHANE DEAN LENGOL is a Congolese filmmaker, writer, and producer whose work explores Congolese culture, history, and contemporary life. He directed the short films MBOTE! And LETETA. RUMBA ROYALE is his first feature film.

HAMED MOBASSER is a Belgian-Iranian filmmaker and screenwriter whose work is informed by Iranian cinema and his experience living and working in the Democratic Republic of Congo. He co-wrote and co-directed his first feature, RUMBA ROYALE, with Congolese filmmaker Yohane Dean Lengol, and also served as a producer and casting director on the film.

TRAILER LINK: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJ2Rxg4Ga3k