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Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
Program
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat

Johan Grimonprez
Belgium, France, Netherlands
2024
150 min
Dutch Premiere
Retrospective: Johan Grimonprez
Tickets & Times
Synopsis

After acclaimed essays such as dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y (1997) and Double Take (2009), Johan Grimonprez now unravels the decolonization of the Congo. He succinctly sets out the international context of the Cold War, the American civil rights movement and the Non-Aligned Movement in the UN, before zooming in on the murder of Congo’s first democratically elected leader, Patrice Lumumba, in 1961 and the direct involvement of the Belgian and US governments, which feared losing their grip on Congolese uranium.

Grimonprez spices this pressure cooker of colonialism, capitalism and racism with jazz. “Jazz ambassador” Louis Armstrong was sent to Congo by the US as a smokescreen for overthrowing Lumumba’s government, while musicians such as Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crashed the UN Security Council to protest Lumumba’s murder.

Meanwhile Armstrong and other jazz ambassadors face a painful dilemma: How to represent a country where racial segregation is still the law of the land? Music propels this jazzily edited documentary, which won the Special Jury Award at Sundance, into the present in which Congo still suffers from the neo-colonial battle over resources.

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Tickets & Times
Sun, november 17
10:30 – 13:25
Tuschinski 1

Tue, november 19
16:00 – 18:50
Rialto De Pijp: Bovenzaal

Wed, november 20
20:30 – 23:20
Tuschinski 1

Fri, november 22
15:15 – 17:48
Het Documentaire Paviljoen: De Spiegel

Sat, november 23
20:30 – 23:03
Eye: Cinema 2
Credits
150 min
color / black and white
DCP
Spoken languages: Dutch, English, French, Russian
Director
    Johan Grimonprez
    Johan Grimonprez
Production
    Daan Milius for Onomatopee Films,
    Rémi Grellety for Warboys
    Daan Milius for Onomatopee Films,
    Rémi Grellety for Warboys
Co-production
    Katja Draaijer for BALDR Film,
    Frank Hoeve for BALDR Film,
    Isabelle Chistiaens for RTBF,
    Simon Vrebos for VRT - Canvas,
    Philipp Ziegler for ZKM - Center for Art and Media,
    Johan Grimonprez for Zap-O-Matik
    Katja Draaijer for BALDR Film,
    Frank Hoeve for BALDR Film,
    Isabelle Chistiaens for RTBF,
    Simon Vrebos for VRT - Canvas,
    Philipp Ziegler for ZKM - Center for Art and Media,
    Johan Grimonprez for Zap-O-Matik
Editing
    Rik Chaubet
    Rik Chaubet
Sound Design
    Ranko Pauković
    Ranko Pauković
Screenplay
    Johan Grimonprez
    Johan Grimonprez
Narrator
    Marie Daulne,
    In Koli Jean Bofane,
    Patrick Cruise O’Brien
    Marie Daulne,
    In Koli Jean Bofane,
    Patrick Cruise O’Brien
World Sales
    Mediawan Rights
    Mediawan Rights
Distribution for the Netherlands
    Imagine Film
    Imagine Film
Screening copy
    Imagine Film
    Imagine Film

Stills

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More from the program section Retrospective: Johan Grimonprez
In homage to our Guest of Honor, IDFA presents seven films by critically acclaimed artist and filmmaker Johan Grimonprez. With his singular exploration into present-day media, his work examines how our collective imagination shapes our understanding of historical events.
View program section
Blue Orchids

Blue Orchids

Johan Grimonprez
2017
48 min