SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT, 2024

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT, 2024
Belgium, France, Netherlands | DCP, Color, 150' | English, French, Dutch
Director: Johan Grimonprez

This Oscar-nominated documentary looks at the 1960 Congolese coup through the lens of American cultural and political intervention. It tells the story of Patrice Lumumba's assassination and the colonial dynamics of the period through archival footage and jazz music. The film also examines the sending of musicians such as Thelonious Monk and Max Roach to different countries by the US as a “soft power” tool, as the “cool” side of the Cold War. Soundtrack to a Coup D'Etat is a powerful work of memory that brings the resistance in Congo together with music.