The Belgian documentary Soundtrack to a Coup d'État by Johan Grimonprez won three prizes at the 40th IDA Documentary Awards ceremony in Los Angeles on Thursday, the Flanders Audiovisual Fund announced.
The film won the awards in ‘Best Editing’ and ‘Best Screenplay’ categories. Grimonprez's film also won the ABC News VideoSource award for 'a feature-length documentary that uses news footage as an integral part of the narrative'.
Soundtrack to a Coup d'État tackles the post-colonial context of Congo's independence in 1960, shedding light on the behind-the-scenes story of the death of Congo's Prime Minister, Patrice Lumumba, who was assassinated with Western complicity. The film uses a wealth of archive footage and historical speeches.
The soundtrack, meanwhile, gives pride of place to jazz music, while a number of legends such as Louis Armstrong and Nina Simone were unknowingly used at the time to distract the people.
Louis Armstrong's controversial African tour
The story also shines a light on the story of Andrée Blouin, the forgotten pioneer of women's emancipation and independence in Africa. She was an activist as well as Lumumba's right hand when he was Prime Minister of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).
Grimonprez has also won awards at the Sundance and Docville festivals. His film has also been nominated for a European Film Award, which will be presented on Saturday in Lucerne (Switzerland).
