Soundtrack to a Coup d'État

February 16, 1961. Two jazz musicians, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, storm the UN Security Council to protest the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, the first democratically elected Prime Minister of Congo.

Six months after the admission of sixteen newly independent African countries to the UN, a political earthquake shifted the majority of votes away from the colonial Western powers. While Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev slams his shoe in indignation over the UN's complicity in the overthrow of Lumumba, the US seeks refuge in jazz.

Fearful of losing the Congolese uranium, they send music legends like Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington to Africa to distract from the CIA-backed coup. Meanwhile, Armstrong and others struggle with an agonizing dilemma: how to represent a country where racial segregation is still very much alive.

Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat is full of energy, both a painful piece of colonial history and a lively jazz concert. Sharply and richly detailed, director Johan Grimonprez unravels the decolonization of Congo, exposing the assassination of Lumumba in 1961 and the involvement of Belgian and American governments.

By interweaving jazz music with political intrigue, he paints a powerful picture of colonialism, racism and the ongoing struggle for Congolese resources. Combined with an editing that is as jazzy as the soundtrack, the Special Jury Award at Sundance and a triumphant tour of many film festivals, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat makes for the must-see documentary of the year.