Soundtrack to a Coup D'etat

media release: Belgium, France, Netherlands | 2024 | DCP | 150 min. | French, Dutch, Russian with English subtitles

Director: Johan Grimonprez

The surprising link between American jazz and the fate of the Congo is brought to light in this riveting essay film. In the early 1960s, the US sent well-intentioned legends like Louis Armstrong to Africa as diplomatic ambassadors—and to act as a smokescreen for the coup against Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. Soon after, drummer Max Roach crashed the United Nations assembly in protest. Propelled by a killer jazz soundtrack, this invigorating montage will open both your eyes and ears. “Crackling with energy, ideas, and formal daring. Political history has never felt so energizing and dynamically alive as it does here.” (Screen Daily).

The Premieres series returns with more early and exclusive looks at the very best in current arthouse cinema! This fall kicks off with Sebastian Stan in A Different Man, one of the best films from this year’s Sundance Film Festival, screening at the Cinematheque nearly a month before it hits theaters. For a truly once-in-a-lifetime experience, don’t miss Eno, a documentary portrait about the iconic musician which is digitally reconfigured every time it screens—the version you’ll see here on October 10 will never be shown again. Plus: wild new entertainments by boundary-pushing favorites Don Hertzfeldt, Harmony Korine, and Quentin Dupieux; equally adventurous and riveting nonfiction works by Mati Diop and Johan Grimonprez, and much more! This series was made possible by a generous donation from an anonymous cinephile.