Soundtrack To A Coup d'Etat

1960s Congo: Against the backdrop of the cold war, the US sends Black American musical icons, including Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone, to Africa as “jazz ambassadors”. These artists are unaware that they are being used to distract from a CIA-backed coup that will lead to the assassination of the Republic of the Congo’s first Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba. In turn these events prompt musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the U.N. security council in protest against Lumumba’s murder.

Interweaving an extensive range of archival footage, newsreels, testimonials and home movies, Johan Grimonprez’s originally electrifying and bold documentary explores the complex connections between music, politics and history during this important era of decolonisation.

The screening of Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is sponsored by Thomas Connollys Pub