Soundtrack to a Coup d'État (2024)

Together with Steppin' Into Tomorrow and Africadelic we present this new documentary by Belgian director Johan Grimonprez, which brings together jazz and colonial history. 

16 February 1961. Two jazz musicians, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, storm the UN Security Council protesting the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's first democratically elected prime minister. It is six months after the admission of 16 newly independent African countries to the UN, a political earthquake that shifts the majority vote away from the colonial Western powers. As Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev slaps his shoe in outrage over the UN's complicity in Lumumba's overthrow, the US takes refuge in jazz. Afraid of losing the Congolese uranium, they send music legends like Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington to Africa to divert attention from the CIA-backed coup. Meanwhile, Armstrong and others struggle with a painful dilemma: how can they represent a country where racial segregation is alive and well?

Bustling with energy, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat is both a painful piece of colonial history and a lively jazz concert. Sharp and richly detailed, director Johan Grimonprez unravels the decolonisation of Congo, exposing Lumumba's 1961 assassination and the involvement of Belgian and US governments. Interweaving jazz music with political intrigue, he paints a powerful picture of colonialism, racism and the ongoing struggle for Congolese resources. Combined with a montage as jazzy as the soundtrack, the Special Jury Award at Sundance and a triumphant tour of many film festivals, it makes Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat the must-see documentary of the year.

Melkweg often hosts different types of programmes at the same time, such as concerts, club nights and films. Please note that there may occasionally be some noise pollution from other programmes during the screening.