“There is what Congolese novelist In Koli Jean Bofane refers to in the film as an ever-evolving 'algorithm of Congo Inc': an algorithm perfected somewhere between Washington, London, Brussels and Kigali, where Congo Inc. has become the global supplier delivering strategic minerals to take war into space. The thesis of Congo Inc. is that every major war largely consumed and was able to be fought thanks to minerals that were provided by the Congo. In the First World War it was rubber; during the Second World War the high-grade uranium; in Vietnam it was the copper of the endless bullets that were shipped there; and now the strategic materials to take war into space.” (Johan Grimonprez)
Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat Soundtrack to a Coup d’Etat
United Nations, 1961: the Global South ignites a political earthquake, jazz musicians Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach crash the Security Council, Nikita Khrushchev bangs his shoe, and the U.S. State Department swings into action, sending jazz ambassador Louis Armstrong to the Congo to deflect attention from the CIA-backed coup. Director Johan Grimonprez explores a moment when jazz, colonialism, and espionage collided.
What's On
LIFFe
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Kings & Queens
Two Prosecutors Dva prokurora
Sergej Loznica
Monday, 17. 11. 2025 / 11:00 / Main Hall
In the age of the great Stalinist purges, an idealistic prosecutor takes the plunge into the corridors of a totalitarian regime, seeking justice for a prisoner.
LIFFe
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Perspectives
The Devil Smokes (and Saves the Burnt Matches in the Same Box) El Diablo Fuma (y guarda las cabezas de los cerillos quemados en la misma caja)
Ernesto Martínez Bucio
Monday, 17. 11. 2025 / 15:00 / Main Hall
Set in a family home in the Mexican suburbs, this psychological drama paints an eerie portrait of everyday life, navigating a terrain between realism and a child’s imagination. A home-alone story laced with tales of the devil and the gradual collapse of reality cued by the parents’ disappearance.
LIFFe
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Panorama
Two Seasons, Two Strangers Tabi to Hibi
Sho Miyake
Monday, 17. 11. 2025 / 17:30 / Main Hall
Shô Miyake’s contemplative feature probes the deeper impact of a chance encounter between two young loners. Spanning two seasons, the miniature spills out from a writer’s imagination into her real life.