On 12 October, the festival will open with Soundtrack to a Coup d’État, a documentary film with a jazz soundtrack by the Belgian multimedia artist and filmmaker Johan Grimonprez. Nominated for an Oscar in 2025, the documentary explores the events leading up to the assassination of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba and the complex historical links between politics and jazz.

This essayistic documentary takes the viewer back to the Congo of the 1960s, where a CIA-backed coup is taking place. The film masterfully interweaves archive footage with a pulsating jazz soundtrack to reveal the political machinations that led to the death of Patrice Lumumba, as well as how American jazz musicians such as Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone, Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie unwittingly and without realising it became pawns in the Cold War power game, their concerts serving as a means to divert attention from the political intrigues.

Many of the musicians genuinely wanted to visit Africa. They were unaware that their concert schedules and diplomatic visits had been meticulously synchronised with the CIA’s covert operations in the region. The film reveals this cynical geopolitical contrast: whilst jazz music, symbolising freedom, resounded on stage, bloody political coups were taking place behind the scenes. Jazz in this film is not merely background music; it is the most important ‘character’.

By seamlessly weaving together music, history and politics, Soundtrack to a Coup d’État unravels the complex web of Cold War tensions, CIA covert operations and African aspirations for independence. This documentary is for anyone interested in the complex relationship between music and politics and the ongoing struggle for decolonisation.