4.8
130 reviews

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

Johan Grimonprez20242h 30mDocumentary

Why we chose it

Washington sent Louis Armstrong on tour while the CIA was working out how to get rid of the Congo’s first elected prime minister, and Johan Grimonprez cuts the archive to jazz to ask why. What comes out is not just old history but an indictment, because the ghosts of colonialism refuse to go away.

Synopsis

It’s 1960, and at the UN in New York, Nikita Khrushchev is accusing the great powers of practising colonialism under another name. Patrice Lumumba has just become the Congo’s first elected prime minister, and the State Department is sending two jazzmen, Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie, out on tour. They look like separate stories, until it becomes clear they are all the same one.

Information

Director
Festival screenings
Sundance FF, Thessaloniki IFF, San Sebastián IFF
Language
French, English, Dutch, Russian
Country
Belgium, France, Netherlands
Subtitles
Polish
Age rating
Universal

Sundance Film Festival

Jury Prize - Documentary Competition

2024

Thessaloniki Documentary Festival

Audience Award

2024

San Sebastian Film Festival

Official Selection

2024

What others say

4.8
130 reviews

Related

Related Journal posts

Get free cinema tickets

Try 7 days for free  Cancel anytime

Our website uses Cookies

We use cookies to offer you the best possible experience on our site.

Cookie Notice