Epitome of Charlie!

Satire master Francois Cavanna, who starts out to make people laugh, and aspires to shake society with publications like Charlie Hebdo, persisted to struggle in his whole life. He was the top representative of free press in France with his stance of questioning notably government, political parties, religious institutions or state during his career. He incurred the wrath of authority that can't tolerate being criticized, and that his publications were banned many times, but he always resisted by writing to the end.

Documentary named Cavanna, jusqu'à l'ultime seconde, j'écrirai (Cavanna, He Was Charlie) directed by Denis and Nina Robert pays homage to the hero who favored reason and logic.

Venturing

Hara Kiri magazine of which Cavanna is one of the founders is being dignified in the documentary as one of the elements preparing French youth for 68 riot.

Hara Kiri was provocatively treating many issues, which were impossible to be discussed before, in a manner destroying taboos of conservative society.

Cavanna always sustained his peace loving and antiwar stand. At times he advocated animal rights, and sometimes said no to nuclear. 

The dissident spirit who always enjoyed writing was a writer that improved himself by himself. Cavanna expanding his fanbase by articles, interviews, novels, and autobiographic books other than satire, remained one of the best sellers with his plain, simple, and pellucid language.

He always attached importance to hearten his readers who identified with his farceur and pessimistic identity in no time, and that he always got angry with ones who fear facing truths. He didn’t concede his attitude that is as daredevil as kamikaze, and that he never gave up making fun of censor as well as managed to use banality and extremism as a weapon.  

Freedom of expression

Cavanna and his friends’ various archive footages in the 2015-made documentary definitely lead you the past. Young Cavanna’s enthusiasm that he would preserve his entire life in the years when technological facilities are limited is worth seeing. The interviews Denis and Nina Robert made with Cavanna let us benefit the writer’s energy till his last moments.

Cavanna’s friends state that they presume Cavanna, who died a while before Charlie Hebdo attack would definitely not lose heart but continue the struggle. Cavanna states he doesn’t fear death but state of not living angers him in his final autobiographical book about the Parkinson’s disease from which he suffered as well.

Producers of the documentary don’t hold back from graphical contribution of Charlie Hebdo satire while bowing respectfully before the memory of a life devoted to expanding boundaries of freedom that government provides.

Hoping to see Cavanna documentary soon at a time in which freedom of the press and expression is curtailed, right to receive news obstructed, journalist being pointed as target and detained, magazines pulled off the shelves in Turkey. (MT/TKN/TK)

Click here to read the article in Turkish