SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D’ETAT

Belgium, France, Netherlands | 2024 | 150 min | col.

1960: sixteen African countries were admitted to the United Nations, triggering a political earthquake. To keep the wealth of former Belgian Congo under control, King Baudouin found an ally in Eisenhower, who was afraid of losing access to the reserves of uranium, a vital component in the production of atom bombs. Visiting as ambassador, jazz musician Louis Armstrong became the unwitting cover for the first post-colonial coup in Africa, while other artists, such as Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, and Dizzy Gillespie had to face a serious dilemma: how to represent a country in which racial segregation is still in force? The cold war reached its zenith when Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev accused the United Nations of aiding and abetting Lumumba’s destitution in front of the General Assembly. A masterly story told from many points of view with a syncopated rhythm about how African self-determination in the sixties was undermined. (a.s.)