Official US Trailer for Music History Doc ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat’
by Alex Billington
September 24, 2024
Source: YouTube
“It isn’t just about jazz, it is jazz.” Ready for a journey back in time? Kino Lorber has debuted an official US trailer for the acclaimed musical documentary film titled Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, made by Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez. It’s finally set for a US release in limited theaters starting this November. The film is an entrancing look back at a major moment in global politics during the 1960s, intertwining music history & pop culture with these events. Jazz & decolonization are entwined in this historical rollercoaster that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Patrice Lumumba (Wiki). After Lumumba was killed in 1961, the US State Department swings into action by sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup in the country. This features excerpts from My Country, Africa by Andrée Blouin (narrated by Marie Daulne aka Zap Mama), Congo Inc. by In Koli Jean Bofane, To Katanga & Back by Conor Cruise O’Brien (narrated by Patrick Cruise O’Brien), & audio memoirs by Nikita Khrushchev. A very unique doc experience.
Here’s the official US trailer for Johan Grimonprez’s doc Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat, from YouTube:
You can rewatch the other trailer for Grimonprez’s Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat right here for even more.
Jazz and decolonization are entwined in this historical rollercoaster that rewrites the Cold War episode that led musicians Abbey Lincoln & Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest of the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. It’s 1961, six months after the admission of 16 newly independent African countries to the UN, a political earthquake that shifts the majority vote from colonial powers to the Global South. As Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe in indignation at the UN’s complicity in the overthrow of Lumumba, the US State Department swings into action by sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is directed by Belgian doc filmmaker Johan Grimonprez, of the doc films Dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y, Double Take, Shadow World, and Blue Orchids previously, plus many other short films and doc projects. Produced by Rémi Grellety and Daan Milius; co-produced by Katja Draaijer and Frank Hoeve. This initially premiered at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival earlier this year, and it screened at the CPH:DOX, Thessaloniki, & Docville Film Festivals this year. KL releases Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat in US theaters on November 1st, 2024.