Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat (12A)
Jazz and decolonisation are entwined in this historical rollercoaster, rewriting the Cold War episode that led to musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crashing the UN Security Council in protest of the murder of Patrice Lumumba.
From £6
The McCarthy
2h 30m
About
United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup.
Director Johan Grimonprez explores a moment when jazz, colonialism, and espionage collided, constructing a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba. The result is a revelatory documentary richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons.
Sundance award winner Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story that resonates more than ever in today’s geopolitical climate.
In English, French, Dutch and Russian with English subtitles.
FAQ's
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