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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Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road.We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We only show a few adverts – less than most cinemas – and we only play a couple of trailers, so please don’t be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!

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