DVD

Soundtrack to a coup d'etat / written and directed by Johan Grimonprez ; produced by Daan Milus & Rémi Grellety ; a Onomatopee Films & Warboys Films production ; in coproduction with Zap-O-Matik, Baldr Film, ZKM Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe, RTBF Télévision Belge & VRT ; with the support of Arte France, Field of Vision, Creative Europe Program of the European Union, The Flanders Audiovisual Fund [VAF] of the Government of Flanders, Centre du Cinéma et de l'Audiovisuel de la Fédération wallonie-Bruxelles Centre National du Cinéma et de l'Image Animée, Netherlands Film Fund, The Tax Shelter Measure of the Belgian Federal Government ; Image/Movement du Centre National des Arts Plastiques, Cinematek Royal Film Archive of Belgium, Africamuseum, Kask & Conservatorium, Belgium Partner in Development, Procirep, Angoa & Sacem.

Grimonprez, Johan, (film director,, screenwriter.). Milius, Daan, (film producer.). Grellety, Rémi, (film producer.). Daulne, Marie, (narrator.). O'Brien, Patrick Cruise, (narrator.). Armstrong, Louis, 1901-1971 (on-screen participant.). Blouin, Andrée, 1921-1986 (on-screen participant.). Bofane, In Koli Jean, 1954- (on-screen participant.). O'Brien, Conor Cruise, 1917-2008 (on-screen participant.). Coltrane, John, 1926-1967 (on-screen participant.). Lincoln, Abbey, (on-screen participant.). Roach, Max, 1924-2007 (on-screen participant.). Onomatopee Films, (production company.). Warboys Films, (production company.). Zap-O-Matik (Firm), (production company.). Baldr Film, (production company.). Zentrum für Kunst und Medientechnologie Karlsruhe, (production company.). Radio-Télévision belge de la communauté culturelle française, (production company.). Vlaamse Radio en Televisieomroep, (production company.). Kino Lorber, Inc., (publisher.). Louis Armstrong, Andrée Blouin, In Koli Jean Bofane, Conor Cruise O'Brien, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, John Coltrane ; narrated by Zap Mama/Marie Daulne, Patrick Cruise O'Brien. (Cast).

Summary:

United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez captures the moment when African politics and American jazz collided in this magnificent essay film, a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congo's leader Patrice Lumumba. Richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story of precedent that resonates more than ever in today's geopolitical climate.

Record details

Physical Description: 1 videodisc (150 min.) : sound, color ; 4 3/4 in.
Publisher: New York, NY : Kino Lorber, [2025]
Copyright: © 2025, 2024

Content descriptions

General Note:	Originally released as a documentary film in 2024. Wide screen. Special features: Q&A panel with the director Johan Grimonprez; trailers.
Participant or Performer Note:	Louis Armstrong, Andrée Blouin, In Koli Jean Bofane, Conor Cruise O'Brien, Abbey Lincoln, Max Roach, John Coltrane ; narrated by Zap Mama/Marie Daulne, Patrick Cruise O'Brien.
System Details Note:	DVD, wide screen (1.78:1), Dolby Audio 5.1 surround and 2.0 stereo sound, NTSC Region 1.
Language Note:	English, French, Dutch and Russian dialogue with English subtitles.