Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat

In 1960, the murder of Congo's independence leader Patrice Lumumba ignited outrage across the world, and American jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach decided the UN Security Council needed to hear it. Grimonprez weaves together archive footage and Cold War documents to show how the killing became a flashpoint between superpowers, each claiming Lumumba's legacy. The film follows the musicians' conscience as it crashed against the machinery of nations.