Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

Plot

Jazz and decolonization are intertwined in a powerful narrative that recounts one of the tensest episodes of the Cold War.

About Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat is a 2024 documentary film directed by Johan Grimonprez about the Cold War episode that led American musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. It features excerpts from My Country, Africa by Andrée Blouin, Congo Inc. by In Koli Jean Bofane, To Katanga and Back by Conor Cruise O'Brien, and audio memoirs by Nikita Khrushchev. The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on January 22. It won the André Cavens Award for Best Film from the Belgian Film Critics Association. At the 97th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film. The film has also won Best Art Film at the Rose d'Or awards in 2025. Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat has been featured in multiple lists of Best of 2024 and 2025 and was considered the third best documentary of all time by Harper's Bazaar.

From Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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