In the organizer's words:

Under the title "Wendepunkte", the Haus für Film und Medien e.V. and the Arthaus Filmtheater Stuttgart, together with numerous partner institutions, are showing a multi-layered program of documentaries and animated films. On the second Wednesday of each month, the series invites you to cinema evenings accompanied by moderated discussions with guests from the worlds of culture, science and society.

On Wednesday, 10 December, Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat is on the program - a stirring history lesson about the Congo in the 1960s, marked by colonialism, intrigue, the fatal role of Western states and jazz as a weapon in the Cold War.

In the 1960s, the Congo fights its way to independence. The USA fears Soviet influence and sends jazz stars such as Louis Armstrong as image ambassadors, artists such as Nina Simone show solidarity with the movement. At the same time, the UN strikes back hard. Johan Grimonprez assembles a powerful documentary mosaic full of history, irony and political explosiveness.

In the subsequent discussion, Tshamala Schweizer (Afrokids International) places Congo's colonial past in the context of current power relations - and shows how historical exploitation continues to have an impact today.