The Film Society of Lincoln Center, in partnership with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy NY, Unifrance Films, Distrib Films, and Kinology, will host an event Friday, January 23 in support of journalists and free expression. Stéphanie Valloatto's Cartoonists, Foot Soldiers of Democracy will have its North American premiere at the Walter Reade Theater at 7:30pm. All proceeds for the event will go to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières), the largest press freedom organization in the world, with almost 30 years of experience.
"Considering the most recent and tragic events with the Charlie hebdo attacks in Paris, this documentary Cartoonists, Foot Soldiers of Democracy, raise questions of crucial importance around freedom of speech, a matter that we cannot take for granted," said Florence Almozini, Senior Programmer at the Film Society. "This is a very relevant topic not only for France, but for the vast majority of the countries around the world. This film gives us the possibility to follow a dozen cartoonists, working in different countries, who are confronted to various degrees of censorship, danger, exile and worse. We believe that knowledge, awareness and the possibility of discussion can help us to more forward and we are fortunate to have the director of the film, Stephanie Valloatto and Jeff Danziger, one of the cartoonists, here to continue the dialogue."
Acclaimed director Radu Mihaileanu (The Concert, The Source), who co-wrote and produced the film, teams up with Plantu, a cartoonist with the French daily newspaper Le Monde for the last 40 years, to tell the story of 12 cartoonists from all over the world whose theme of democracy is represented throughout their work. The documentary explores the risks they run every day—often finding themselves on the front lines—and the reactions and debates they provoke, giving us a subtle insight into the state of freedom of expression and democracy in the world today.
Noted Screen Daily in its review of the film last year: "The project starts with the premise that democracy is always at risk and must always be fought for. Not only where it is threatened daily by political regimes, be it in Moscow or Caracas, or by religious fanatics but also in countries deemed to be bastions of free thought such as the U.S. or France."
Valloatto told Euro News about her film, which had its debut in the Special Screenings section of the 2014 Cannes Film Festival: "The idea was to show the state of democracy and freedom of expression around the world and we chose cartoonists from each continent, we chose themes – economics, politics, and religion to make links between them."
Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières), for Freedom of Information is the largest press freedom organization in the world, with almost 30 years of experience. Thanks to its unique global network of 150 local correspondents investigating in 130 countries, 11 national offices, and a consultative status at the UN and UNESCO, RSF is able to have a global impact, gather on-the-ground information, conduct major advocacy campaigns, and assist and defend news providers all across the world.
"The work of Reporters Without Borders in their support journalists and freedom of speech for everyone is admirable," added Almozini. "While it is comforting to see the outdoor of support towards Charlie Hebdo, we should not forget all the other 'Charlies' around the world, whose existence and difficulties we may not aware of, but whose absence would be certainly felt."
The global group of cartoonists featured in the film include individuals from France, Tunisia, Russia, America, Burkina Faso, China, Mexico, Algeria, Cote d'Ivoire, Venezuela, Israel, and Palestine. Details on each cartoonist profiled can be found below.
[Tickets are $15 and on sale now, visit filmlinc.com to purchase and for more information.]
PLANTU
Name: Jean Plantureux
Pen name: Plantu
Nationality: French
Hometown: Paris
Profession: Editorial cartoonist
Publication(s): Le Monde, L’Express
Forty years and counting on the front page of Le Monde. Chairman and co-founder of Cartooning for Peace. Plantu is the film’s guide in the cartoon world, connecting the dots between the other cartoonists.
SLIM
Name: Menouar Merabtène
Pen name: Slim
Nationality: Algerian
Hometown: Algiers
Profession: Cartoonist and comic-book illustrator
Publication(s): Le Soir d’Algérie
Slim was the first Algerian cartoonist to dare caricature a president in 1984 with President Chadli. The day it was published, the 80,000 copies of the newspaper were pulled. In 1992, the fundamentalists’ election victory gave Slim plenty of material for his cartoons but the assassination of President Boudiaf and journalist friends drove him into exile in Morocco, where he continues to be a thorn in the fundamentalists’ side.
RAYMA SUPRANI
Name: Rayma Suprani
Pen name: Rayma
Nationality: Venezuelan
Hometown: Caracas
Profession: Cartoonist
Publication(s): El Universal
A cartoonist for El Universal who is regularly threatened because of her satirical depictions of the regime. She only travels with caution to avoid unnecessary risks. When the new Constitution banned depictions of the President’s face, she drew a banana wearing a crown, which was immediately recognized by the whole country as Chavez. For Rayma, the new president, Maduro, changes nothing. The fight goes on.
BOLIGÁN
Name: Angel Boligán
Pen name: Boligán
Nationality: Cuban
Hometown: Mexico City
Profession: Cartoonist
Publication(s): El Universal – Conozca Más
Born in Cuba, and immigrated to Mexico, where Boligán was advised to avoid three particular subjects: the President, the army, and the Virgin of Guadalupe. They went straight to the top of his agenda and he has drawn them every day since. Today, he also tackles drug cartels responsible for 15,000 deaths a year in Mexico.
ZLATKOVSKY
Name: Mikhail Zlatkovsky
Pen name: Zlatkovsky
Nationality: Russian
Hometown: Moscow
Profession: Political cartoonist
Publication(s): Noyve Izvestia
The best-known cartoonist in Russia, winner of hundreds of international awards, and the only one who dares to draw Putin. As he was in Brezhnev’s day, he is now banned from publishing his work. To make ends meet, he has even worked as an unlicensed nighttime taxi driver.
KICHKA
Name: Michel Kichka
Pen name: Kichka
Nationality: Belgian-Israeli
Hometown: Jerusalem
Profession: Political cartoonist
Publication(s): Several international publications, Courrier International, Herald Tribune, L’Arche, on i24 News, various websites, and TV5 Monde
Kichka is one of the greatest cartoon exponents in Israel, and is second generation after the Holocaust. He is convinced that cartoonists have a common goal: telling it straight. He is good friends with his Palestinian colleague Boukhari.
BOUKHARI
Name: Baha Boukhari
Pen name: Boukhari
Nationality: Palestinian
Hometown: Ramallah
Profession: Cartoonist
Publication(s): Al-Ayyam
Boukhari published his first cartoon in 1964. He frequently takes part in debates in Jerusalem.
He senses ambivalence in the treatment of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and firmly believes in peace and is convinced that one day they will all learn to live together.
PI SAN
Name: Wang Bo
Pen name: Pi San
Nationality: Chinese
Hometown: Beijing
Profession: Animation cartoonist, director of Hutoon Company
Media: Huttoon Co.
Through his animated cartoons for grown-ups, aired only on the Internet, he tries to denounce injustices in modern China, preserving what he calls his “inner freedom” in the face of daily censorship.
NADIA KHIARI - aka Willis from Tunis
Name: Nadia Khiari
Pen name: Willis from Tunis
Nationality: Tunisian
Hometown: Tunis
Profession: Cartoonist - Illustrator
Publication(s): Freelance
Willis is the name of Nadia Khiari’s famous cat, which became a symbol of the Tunisian revolution, and to maintain her freedom, she only publishes online. Her Facebook page has 30,000 followers and
Willis’s enemies include Fundamentalists, politicians who hijacked the revolution, opponents of women’s rights, and those who cause bloodshed.
DANZIGER
Name: Jeff Danziger
Pen name: Danziger
Nationality: American
Hometown: New York City
Profession: Cartoonist, former intelligence officer, published by The New York Times syndicate
Publication(s): hundreds, including The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, International Mail, China Daily
An intelligence officer and linguist during the Vietnam War. Published by The New York Times syndicate covering a hundred or so publications, one of the leading opponents of G.W. Bush, and also fights economic censorship (media stockholders) and the barbarity of war (Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.). Behind the headline-grabbing cartoons is a man full of humor and mischievousness.
ZOHORÉ
Name: Lassane Zohoré
Pen name: Zohoré
Nationality: Ivorian
Hometown: Abidjan
Profession: Cartoonist, founder of Gbich magazine and Tâche d’Encre association, comic-book author
Publication(s): Gbich
Cartoonist and founder of Gbich magazine. For Zohoré, drawing is a duty he imposes on himself when the death squads and civil war are raging to give another point of view and cheer up the population.
GLEZ
Name: Damien Glez
Pen name: Glez
Nationality: French-Burkinabese
Hometown: Ouagadougou
Profession: Cartoonist – Editor of Le Journal du jeudi
Publication(s): Le Journal du Jeudi
Half-French, half-Burkinabese cartoonist and editor of the first African satirical magazine, Le Journal du Jeudi. In Africa, where 60% of the population is illiterate, he believes cartoons play an even greater role than anywhere else. On the front page of Le Journal du Jeudi, Glez frequently depicts President Blaise Compaoré in caricatures instantly recognizable to the population.