(NR) Belgium/France/Netherlands – 2 hr 30 min – with subtitles
2024 · d. Johan Grimonprez
Starring Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach
Jazz, politics, and espionage collide in this kinetic essay film, casting light on a sinister chapter of Cold War history. As chaos, crises, and foreign machinations beset a newly decolonized Congo, the U.S. State Department dispatches Louis Armstrong to the country as a “jazz ambassador”—and an unwitting decoy in a CIA plot to assassinate Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba.
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is nominated for the following Academy Award:
