‘Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat by Johan Grimonprez’

Jazz and decolonization are entwined in this historical rollercoaster that rewrites the Cold War episode that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. In 1961, six months after 16 African nations joined the UN, shifting power to the Global South, Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev denounced the UN’s complicity, while the US sent Louis Armstrong to Congo to distract from a CIA-backed coup. 

Johan Grimonprez’s films, including dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y, Double Take, and Shadow World, have toured festivals like Berlinale, Sundance, and Tribeca, winning awards such as the ZKM Media Award, Independent Spirit Award, and Abu Dhabi’s Black Pearl Award. His work has aired on PBS, ARTE, and BBC/FILM 4 and been showcased at major museums like MoMA, the Hammer Museum, and the Pinakothek der Moderne. His pieces are held in collections such as the Centre Pompidou, Tate Modern, and the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art.