Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat12A

Directed by Johan Grimonprez | Belgium/France/Netherlands | 2024 | 2h 30m

In 1960, sixteen newly independent African nations joined the United Nations, triggering a political change that shifted the majority vote from colonial powers to the Global South. As Nikita Khrushchev famously pounds his shoe at the UN in protest against neo-colonial resource exploitation, the U.S. State Department sends jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo in an effort to distract from a CIA-backed coup. This hypnotic film essay weaves together compelling connections between post-war jazz, U.S. imperialism, and the Pan-African decolonisation movement.

Presented as part of AfriSoc’s Sankofa Spaces series, this screening is hosted in partnership with Maona Arts and Friends of the Congo. 

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat between February 7, 2026 and February 7, 2026.

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