“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
Silent Friend Stille Freundin
Ildikó Enyedi
Friday, 14. 11. 2025 / 11:00 / Main Hall
A cinematic meditation on a majestic ginkgo tree growing in the heart of a botanical garden in a medieval university town in Germany.
LIFFe
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Panorama
The President's Cake Mamlaket al-qasab
Hasan Hadi
Friday, 14. 11. 2025 / 15:00 / Main Hall
A humorous and touching debut about a young girl’s daring quest to bake a cake in the time of Saddam Hussein when Iraq is suffering under strict sanctions. Winner of Cannes 2025 Audience Award and Directors’ Fortnight Best First Feature Award.
LIFFe
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Adriatic Festival Network
Maldoror Maldoror
Fabrice du Welz
Friday, 14. 11. 2025 / 17:15 / Main Hall
Belgium, 1995. The disappearance of two girls shakes the public and triggers a media storm. An idealistic but impulsive young policeman, Paul Chartier, joins a secret unit called Maldoror, tasked with monitoring a suspect previously convicted of sexual assaults. When the operation fails, Chartier, frustrated by police inefficiency and the legal system, embarks on a lone pursuit that gradually turns into an obsession…