Canadian Premiere
On January 17, 1961, seven months after Congolese independence, Patrice Lumumba, the nation’s first democratically elected prime minister, is assassinated. How did this political murder come about? And what role did Black jazz legends such as Louis Armstrong and Dizzy Gillespie play within the larger context of the era, amid the decolonization movements then sweeping across Africa? These questions are at the heart of Soundtrack to a Coup d’État, a riveting, essayistic investigation of the complex and unlikely intersections of American jazz and Cold War geopolitics.
Directed by Belgian multimedia artist Johan Grimonprez (Double Take), the film deftly weaves together archival footage, political speeches, journalistic interviews, personal memoirs, and historical studies, demonstrating how the struggle for civil rights in the United States was deeply intertwined with decolonial movements in Africa and elsewhere. Recipient of the World Cinema Documentary Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation at Sundance, Soundtrack pulses with anti-colonialist fervor, putting a spotlight on a dark chapter of history that has lost none of its urgency or import today.
Special Jury Award for Cinematic Innovation, Sundance 2024
An invigorating piece of documentary filmmaking […] It’s dense yet nuanced, managing to capture so many disparate threads that combined to result in Lumumba’s murder.
Murtada Elfadl, Variety
Media Partner
Community Partner
Marie Daulne, In Koli Jean Bofane, Patrick Cruise O’Brien
Belgium/France/Netherlands
2024
In English, French, Russian and Dutch with English subtitles and open captions
At Vancouver Playhouse and VIFF Centre
At Fifth Avenue
Book Tickets
Indigenous & Community Access
Indigenous Access Tickets Community Access Tickets Ticket Donation Requests
Credits & Director
Producer
Daan Milius, Rémi Grellety
Screenwriter
Johan Grimonprez
Editor
Rik Chaubet
Johan Grimonprez
Johan Grimonprez’s work dances on the borders of practice and theory, art and cinema, and documentary and fiction, inviting viewers to rethink media and globalization. His projects, exhibited globally at institutions like MoMA and Tate Modern, explore contemporary issues through innovative narratives. Notable films include dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y (1997), Double Take (2009), and Shadow World (2016). His latest film, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat (2024), premiered at Sundance where it won the Cinematic Innovation Award.
Filmography: dial H-I-S-T-O-R-Y (1997); Double Take (2009); Shadow World (2016)
Missing VIFF? Check out what's playing at the VIFF Centre
Hanging by a Wire
The Himalayas, Aug 22, 2023: a cable car bearing 8 passengers (six of them schoolkids) is left dangling 900 feet above the ground when two out of three cables snap. This nailbiting documentary recounts the increasingly frantic rescue attempts.
The Sun Never Sets
At the suggestion of her much older (divorced) boyfriend, Wendy (Dakota Fanning) takes a summer to reevaluate her life and date other people. She's reluctant at first, but then reconnects with an old flame... A gentle indie comedy from Joe Swanberg.
A Sad and Beautiful World
This Lebanese love story chronicles the romance between a level-headed businesswoman and a romantic restauranteur across several decades in wartorn Beirut. It's funny, charming, melancholy and you'll feel it all.
American Doctor
One of the most powerful documentaries of the year, this puts us smack in the open wound that is Gaza, filtered through the eyes of three American surgeons (of Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian backgrounds) compelled to do their utmost to alleviate harm.