Is ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’État’ the most important documentary of 2024? For Africans who understand the necessity of Pan-African unity, it just might be.
Director Johan Gilmonprez’s film explores the role of the CIA and the US State Department in the assassination of the Democratic Republic of the Congo’s first prime minister, the renowned Pan-Africanist Patrice Lumumba (1925-61). The film also examines US State Department-funded cultural programming, such as their now-infamous ‘jazz ambassadors’ programme that dispatched US-based Black jazz artists worldwide, including to Congo. They may not have known that the US touted their performances as cover for destructive regime-change operations.
In this video, Jared Ball (@imixwhatilike on X), a professor, Pan-African organiser with @aaprp, and host and member of Black Liberation Media (@BLM_edia on X), breaks down why this film is a must-watch.
Let us know what you took away from watching ‘Soundtrack to a Coup d’État’!
Sources:
https://revsoc21.uk/2025/01/03/review-soundtrack-to-a-coup-detat/
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