Screening & Discussion: Soundtrack to a Coup d’État – Independence and Beyond…

The collectives About Congo and Mémoire Coloniale et Lutte contre les Discriminations, together with the non-profit Action des Femmes pour le Développement, invite you to a film screening followed by a conversation to mark Congo’s Independence Day and the 100th anniversary of Patrice Lumumba’s birth.

The screening and the ensuing discussion will build bridges between past and present, exploring the connections between the history and context of independence and the current situation in Eastern DR Congo.

SOUNDTRACK TO A COUP D'ETAT

Johan Grimonprez

BE/FR, 150', 2023, VO ST FR

Synopsis : 'Soundtrack to a Coup d'État' highlights one of the most insidious political machinations of the 20th century: how the Belgian monarchy, the U.S. government and multinational corporations conspired to use art institutions and legendary jazz musicians as cover for covert operations to assassinate Congo's prime minister, Patrice Lumumba.

About the organizers:

About Congo is a collective made up of Belgian citizens, people of African descent, and Africans living in Belgium. We are all connected to the Kivu region through our origins and/or personal ties, and we are saddened and outraged by what is happening there and by Europe’s lack of concrete action. Since September 2024, we have been combining our energy and respective skills to support the fight for peace in the region by informing the Belgian public about the situation and mobilizing them around clear political demands. To this end, we organize monthly discussions and meetings under the title “Let’s Talk About Congo” every third Tuesday of the month, focusing on specific themes related to the ongoing war in Eastern DRC. We also co-organize or support mobilizations and joint actions in Belgium.

Collectif Mémoire Coloniale et Lutte contre les Discriminations (CMCLD) is a decolonial movement engaged in an ongoing struggle to build a decolonial society—one that creates a reconciled memory based on an objective historical narrative that includes all citizens; that confronts its colonial legacy through continuous reflection and work; that is free of racism and anti-Blackness; free of stereotypes and prejudices that lead to discrimination; free of oligarchic and imperialist economic exploitation that fosters competition among the poor and fuels racism; and free of a colonial system of governance that ranks and pits citizens against one another.

Action des Femmes pour le Développement – AFEDE ASBL, founded in 2004, is an organization that denounces the use of rape as a weapon of war in Eastern Congo. Since 2014, in response to the 2012 takeover of Goma by the M23 rebels, we have been providing schooling in the city of Goma for 50 children who are newly or formerly displaced by the ongoing wars and conflicts in North Kivu province. At the end of 2024 in Goma, we formalized our support for displaced mothers by creating La Gomatracienne, an initiative that promotes women's empowerment and combats menstrual poverty among women and girls affected by war and armed conflict.