René Vautier, The French Filmmaker who Fought for the Liberation of Algeria

Popular memory often faces manipulation at the hands of corrupt politician and due to the betrayal of renegade elites and the Algerian history is a case in point. But fortunately, despite drawbacks and difficulties, there are those who preserved history and passed it on, and René Vautier was one of them. Loyal to his legacy of resisting Nazism during World War II, the French film-maker joined Algerian resistance against French colonialism since its very beginning. Coinciding with the start of the Algerian War of Liberation, the young Vautier directed a documentary film shedding light on the brutal violence of the French invasion of Algeria, which, like many of his films, was banned by Frenchcensorship. Vautier was charged with “endangering national security” and imprisoned because he shot what he witnessed and what the establishment was keen on hiding. Vautier’s “Africa 50” is seen as the first French anti-colonial film.
•    Vautier passed away at 87, few days after the publication of this article. His entire work was released in a DVD collection towards the end of 2014.