Feature: 'Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat' director discusses Jazz greats and their relationship to post-colonial Africa

Feature: 'Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat' director discusses Jazz greats and their relationship to post-colonial Africa

The Oscar-nominated documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat has received critical success through it’s focus on an international incident, a relationship between developing countries in a post-colonial era, and how artists can unknowingly play a role in this. The documentary, directed by Johan Grimonprez, uses jazz music from the likes of Louis Armstrong and Max Roach as an entryway into post-colonial Africa. Grimonprez spends much of the documentary getting into newly independent African nations, the most notable being the Democratic Republic of Congo, and how their relationship with colonial powers involved in the United Nations can impact their new democracies. This narrative is put together with prominent jazz musicians at the time and how their performances in these new nations were used for political purposes unbeknownst to them. So, for this week’s FilmWeek feature, we sit down with Johan Grimonprez, director of Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat.

“Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat” is out now in select theaters and available on VOD