Mar 13

Mar 13 Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat to Open the Decolonial Film Festival’s Second Edition

We’re excited to announce that Doc Weekly is the official media partner of the Decolonial Film Festival, which will have its second edition from the 12th to the 25th of May 2025 across several cinemas in the Paris region.

This year’s edition will be opening on the 12th of May at the Luxy cinema, Ivry, with an avant-premiere of the critically acclaimed 2025 Oscar-nominee for Best Documentary : Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat by Johan Grimonprez. You can book tickets here.

On the outset an investigation into the United States’ implication in the assassination of Congolese and Panafrican leader Patrice Lumumba in 1961, Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat is nothing short of a masterpiece of archival cinema. A drum solo-riddled essay film, it rapturously captures the moment American Jazz and African politics collided, when leaders of the Global South were brandishing their newfound independence in charismatic UN speeches but the sinister machinations of imperialist and capitalist power were at work behind the scenes.

The film will be out in French cinemas from the 1st of October.

The Decolonial Film Festival showcases films illustrating colonial history, power dynamics and resistance movements. Its ambition, through film and after-screening conversations, is to share these stories and raise awareness in order to encourage collective action and inter-community solidarity.

This year’s programme has been designed around five themes: Heritage, Diaspora, Resistance, Spirituality and, for the first time, Love. Based on collective organisation, all the films have been chosen by a programming committee made up of around fifteen anti-racist, diasporic, queer and feminist organisations.

Recent additions include NOIR CINEMA (black independent cinematography), le Collectif 1871 (antifasciste film club), Ẅ XOOL (afro-feminist festival), l’AJUCA (French Overseas Association for Youth in Film and Media), Bissai Media (antiracist media) and Banh Mi (media and collective for asian cultures).

The programme will also feature the Tsedek! and Tonnerre film clubs, the Festival Ciné-Palestine, the Cinewax and Aflam societies, media Dune and Débordements, and podcasts Mazal, JINS and FANM. In addition to the screenings, a number of musical evenings are scheduled for Fridays 16 and 23 May, as well as festive evenings for the opening and closing of the festival.

Screenings will be taking place in cinemas throughout the Paris region, including the Luxy in Ivry, the Cin’Hoche in Bagnolet, Le Trianon in Romainville, L’Écran in Saint-Denis and the Luminor in Paris.

To be the first to know more about the program and tickets, follow the Decolonial Film Festival and Doc Weekly or visit their website, here.