Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

An explosive cocktail of geopolitics, jazz music and Cold War intrigue set against the backdrop of the Congo. Director and visual artist Johan Grimonprez composes a film that pulsates with music and cinematic energy. An intense political indictment of the ghosts of colonialism that still refuse to die.

Synopsis

In 1960, the Jazz Hour broadcasts Louie Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie behind the Iron Curtain, while decolonization movements are taking hold in Africa and the civil rights struggle continues in the United States. In Congo, Patrice Lumumba, leader of the country's independence movements, becomes the first democratically elected Prime Minister. But corporate and colonial interests and machinations at the United Nations conspire to assassinate him.