6:30 PM – Concert
8:00 PM – Screening
Soundtrack to a Coup d’État (2023)
The post-colonial struggle for Congo’s resources, told from the unique perspective of Andrée Blouin, a neglected pioneer of female emancipation and independence throughout Africa.
United Nations, 1960: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez explores a moment when jazz, colonialism, and espionage collided, constructing a riveting historical rollercoaster that illuminates the political machinations behind the 1961 assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba. The result is a revelatory documentary richly illustrated by eyewitness accounts, official government memos, testimonies from mercenaries and CIA operatives, speeches from Lumumba himself, and a veritable canon of jazz icons. Sundance award winner Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat interrogates colonial history to tell an urgent and timely story that resonates more than ever in today’s geopolitical climate.
Director: JOHAN GRIMONPREZ / Producers: DAAN MILIUS & RÉMI GRELLETY / co-producers KATJA DRAAIJER & FRANK HOEVE
T.K. Blue and “Planet Bluu”
Saxophonist, flautist, percussionist, composer and bandleader T.K. Blue–perhaps best known for his long run as musical director / saxophonist for Dr. Randy Weston’s African Rhythms–has also worked with greats like Little Jimmy Scott, Sam Rivers, Chico Hamilton, and Abdullah Ibrahim; released more than a dozen albums as a leader; and done three State Department tours of Africa.
This event is free, first come, first served.
