Underplayed Gems

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat (2024)

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat poster
Directed by
Johan Grimonprez
Genre
documentary film
Country
France, Netherlands, Belgium
Runtime
2h 30m
Rated
NR
Rating
7.7 of 10 from 70 voters
Elsewhere
IMDb
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How it feels

This documentary examines the Cold War era events that led to the assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. It focuses on how American musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach protested this murder by disrupting a United Nations Security Council meeting.

cynicalurgenttensepolitically chargedarchival-drivenangryeducationalpropulsive

What happens

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat is a 2024 documentary film directed by Johan Grimonprez about the Cold War episode that led American musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest against the murder of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. It features excerpts from My Country, Africa by Andrée Blouin; Congo Inc. by In Koli Jean Bofane; To Katanga and Back by Conor Cruise O'Brien; and audio memoirs by Nikita Khrushchev. The film had its world premiere at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival on 22 January. It won the André Cavens Award for Best Film from the Belgian Film Critics Association. At the 97th Academy Awards, it was nominated for Best Documentary Feature Film. The film has also won Best Art Film at the Rose d'Or awards in 2025. Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat has been featured in multiple lists of Best of 2024 and 2025 and was considered the third best documentary of all time by Harper's Bazaar. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

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