Directed by: Johan Grimonprez

Documentary – Belgium, France, Netherlands – 2024 – 150 min

Section: Focus Johan Grimonprez

Jazz and decolonization collide in this historical rollercoaster that rewrites the Cold War episode that led musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach to crash the UN Security Council in protest of Congolese leader Patrice Lumumba’s murder. In 1961, six months after sixteen newly independent African countries joined the UN, the majority vote shifted from colonial powers. Amid Khrushchev’s shoe-banging indignation over the UN’s role in Lumumba’s overthrow, the US sent jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to Congo to divert attention from the CIA-backed coup.

* Film recommended for ages 12 and over.