Kino Lorber has picked up U.S. rights to Johan Grimonprezs Sundance-winning documentary Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat, which traces how the U.S. used Jazz Ambassadors like Louis Armstrong, Nina Simone and Duke Ellington, to build goodwill during the Cold War all while orchestrating clandestine operations to destabilize the Congo.

Kino Lorber will partner with specialist streamer Kanopy on the U.S. release of the film. Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat marks Lorbers second collaboration with Grimonprez following their 2010 release of his hybrid doc-drama Double Take, which stitches together clips from Alfred Hitchcocks films and TV work, together with 50s news footage and commercials, to tell a fictional story of Cold War paranoia. Johan Grimonprez is a master of making political history feel newly alive and utterly fascinating, and hes done it again with his latest film Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat, said Richard Lorber, chairman and CEO of Kino Lorber. A captivating documentary that skewers capitalists and colonizers to thumping jazz beats, its a historical tour de force and a wildly compelling cinematic experience. Were thrilled to be working with Johan again and cant wait to share Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat with U.S. audiences, who will surely find themselves moved and shaken by the rhythm and rigor of his enthralling new film.

Kino Lorber picked up Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat from Submarine Entertainment at the Cannes film market. Lorber senior vice President Wendy Lidell negotiated the deal with Matt Burke of Submarine. Mediawan Rights is handling international sales for the film and has already inked multiple territories including Australia (Madman), Benelux (Imagine), Brazil (Bela Artes Grupo), Greece (Cinobo), Italy (I Wonder Pictures), Spain (Filmin), Thailand (Documentary Club) and ex-Yugoslavia (Beldocs).

Soundtrack to a Coup dEtat is produced by Onomatopee Films and Warboys Films, in co-production with Zap-O-Matik, Baldr Film, ZKM | Center For Art And Media Karlsruhe, RTBF Tlvision Belge and VRT.