Soundtrack to a Coup d'Etat - A powerful documentary intertwining jazz and decolonization, revisiting the historic protest of Abbey Lincoln and Max Roach, who stormed the UN Security Council after Patrice Lumumba’s assassination. Blending archival footage with the sounds and voices of jazz during the Cold War, the film explores the birth of the Republic of Congo and the political and cultural impact of this crucial moment. Nominated for the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary, the film offers a profound reflection on the struggle for justice and freedom.
Goodbye Horses: The Many Lives of Q Lazzarus is a documentary by Mexican filmmaker Eva Aridjis Fuentes that answers a question many music lovers may have asked at some point in their lives: who sang the iconic track Goodbye Horses (immortalized by an iconic sequence in The Silence of the Lambs) and what happened to the artist? The documentary gives a voice to Q Lazzarus to tell her own story, why she never achieved the success that the legendary status of her song promised, and why she disappeared for so long. While its linear structure and spontaneous direction make the experience somewhat unpolished with an irregular pace, the documentary is endlessly fascinating because its protagonist's story is. A must-watch for anyone wanting to know about a musical star who shone brightly but burned out too soon, or for anyone wanting to know why it happened that way.
Directed by Asif Kapadia ('Senna'), the documentary 'Amy' is a posthumous and highly personal portrait of Amy Winehouse, going beyond her meteoric rise, fame and, yes, her substance abuse problems that led to her tragic death in 2011, at 27. This movie, worthy of the BAFTA and Oscar for Best Documentary in 2016, compiles unseen archive footage of the British artist, before and after her commercial success, through which she manages to offer an honest and balanced view of the delicate balance between being an artist and a celebrity, without falling into sensationalism. A balanced tribute to women and their music, essential for her fans and for those who want to watch the construction of a powerful documentary all built on archive.
Todd Haynes (‘Carol’, ‘Far From Heaven’), acclaimed director and one of the most daring currently in the extension of his filmography, chooses to film his first non-fiction movie, ‘The Velvet Underground’, a documentary about his favorite band. Knowing a little more about Todd Haynes or Velvet Underground, it is perfectly understandable the director's appreciation, and the choice of this partnership which is both eccentric and fits like a glove. This irreverent combination takes us on a journey to New York's musical scene of the 60s, as well as the entire history of the concept band, Velvet Underground, in a highly sensory narrative. It is not necessary to know the band to appreciate the documentary, it delivers the context worked out in detail. It is a documentary for lovers of cinema and what it can offer in its potential, made with love and knowledge, in the only way that could capture all the essence of its main object.