Soundtrack to a Coup D´Etat | Stranger Than Fiction

In the organizer's words:

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D`ETAT

B/F/NL 2024 - 150' - Original language - Director: Johan Grimonprez

In a fast-paced montage of archive footage and music, the film shows how jazz was used as an imperialist instrument. An angry outcry against the oppressive mechanisms of the Western world. In the 1960s, as more and more African states dared to rebel against the European colonial powers and were supported by socialist regimes, the USA and its allies intervened in an unconventional way: Jazz greats Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Dizzy Gillespie are sent to Africa as advertising media for the Western world, while the CIA operates in the background and targets politicians such as Patrice Lumumba, the first prime minister of the independent Congo.

Director Johan Grimonprez explores the moment when jazz, colonialism and espionage collided, constructing a gripping historical rollercoaster ride that sheds light on the political machinations behind the assassination of Congolese independence leader Patrice Lumumba in 1961.

As part of the Stranger Than Fiction documentary film festival!

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