Global Engagement | Film screening
19 March | 18:30-21:30
In the documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d'État, Belgian filmmaker Johan Grimonprez takes us back to February 1961. Two jazz musicians, Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, storm the UN Security Council and protest the assassination of Patrice Lumumba, Congo's prime minister. Previous discussions on demilitarization and decolonization had already fallen apart, much to the frustration of Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev.
The big obstructionist, the U.S.A., desperately needed to boost its image and sought refuge in jazz. Music legends such as Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Dizzy Gillespie and Duke Ellington are sent to the Congo as jazz ambassadors to divert attention from several CIA operations.
Soundtrack to a Coup d'État makes you look at Belgium's colonial past with different eyes. In this, music is more than a soundtrack, but an essential part of the film.
Everyone is welcome, entrance is free, registration required.
Location: City campus, Klooster van de Grauwzusters, Building S, Lange Sint-Annastraat 7, Promotiezaal
Watch the trailer
