Autochenille Productionprésents

The Movie

Directed byMarguerite Abouet et Clément Oubrerie

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« Africa is about beautiful and witty girls who dance the night away at local bars and who cater to midnight kisses at the Thousand Star Hotel while others stay home and concentrate on higher aspirations to become doctors. Africa is about fathers named Ignace or Hyacinte and mothers who practice healing in their spare time. In Yopougon, in Ivory Coast, in Africa, just as (or more than?) anywhere else… people argue, forgive, forget, laugh, cry, dance, solve problems and serve Nescafé to the sexy genitos. Thank you Marguerite Abouet for sharing your childhood memories with us dêh, right down to the expressions…! And thank you Clément Oubrerie for drawing with such grace the young girls’ necks, the sea and the children’s faces. »

AnnA GAvAldA

Aya, Adjoua et Bintou

stove, the sun-drenched asphalt, the humming of Moussa’s orange Toyota Corolla… this is the lai-dback atmosphere in “Aya de Yopougon.”

Temperatures will rise and we’ll share a cul-de-dindon or a glass of Tip-Top soda with Bintou at the Allocodrome. We’ll listen to François Lougah, Ernesto Djédjé and the Zairian rumbas. If the ni-ght gets too hot and our appetite indulged, we’ll have to rely on our mothers to restore order.

This angle won’t stop us from

“Aya de Yopougon” sprung from the desire to relate the story of a happy childhood in the suburbs of Abidjan, as well as to tell the story of a country. A story which strives to offer the vision of an Africa that is rarely seen today amid media that shows us too much of how Africans die, and not enough of how Africans live. In contrast, animated motion pictu-res and youth literature depict an Africa of legend and folklore, light years away from the reality of mo-dern Africa.

This is the story of an Africa that’s

different from the one we usually read about. Set in the suburbs of Abidjan, 19-year old Aya tells us the story of her middle-class life, of her personal aspirations and of the frustration she feels with her less ambitious boy-crazy girlfriends Adjoua and Bintou. “Aya” tells the story of a family, not of a nation; its setting – the carefree Ivorian Dolce Vita era of the 1970s.

Young girls as indifferent in their pace as they are hurried in their conversations. Mothers glued to their television screens while let-ting their peanut sauce burn on the

rituals of Yop City’s teenagers, but also the trials and tribulations of their elders.

We are pleased to work with Auto-chenille Productions whose expert team is currently working on “The Rabbi’s Cat ” by Joann Sfar. We will rely on them to bring our characters to life with just the right energy and passion, making the viewer feel like he’s really experiencing life in this exciting neighborhood.

“Aya de Yopougon” is a fictional story that testifies to humanity and relationships without being arro-gant or condescending. It allows

us to cross the race and geographic borders that otherwise stop us wes-terners from seeing Africa free of any moral or lesson-giving obser-vations.

The success of this comic series in bookstores, in festivals and even abroad in other languages pays tribute to the universality of our theme – everyday life in contem-porary Africa is a subject that transcends race, age and gender. MArGuerite Abouet

et CléMent oubrerie

considering the more sensitive topics like the absence of contra-ception or the limited access to education for girls, but we will do so with humor. Because Ivorians know how to laugh, particularly of situations that aren’t funny… They laugh with a surface cruelty under which a most sincere sense of care and affection is hidden. Nouchi, their colorful Ivorian slang, trans-forms the dullest conversations into a verbal roller coaster of which it is easy to lose control.

The animated film will be urban, modern and harmoniously comi-cal, exploring not only the flirting

(a boy who doesn’t have much to do) and the genitos (a boy who has money to spend) at the local bars “It’s gonna be hot” or “Shake it.”

Aya has a special name for these girls who always find a way to cou-rir les môgôs despite the watchful eyes of their fathers – the C series : combs, clothes and chasing men .

We also meet the wealthy Sisso-ko’s whose opulent pink house cannot go unnoticed. Bonaventure Sissoko manages a big beer brewery, the famous Solibro, who currently has financial problems. His wife Simone doesn’t do any-

Yopougon, working-class neighbordhood of Abidjan, rena-med “Yop City, like something out of an American movie.” Ivory Coast, late 1970s.

The neighborhood is famous for its colorful streets, full of life by day and by night, its market square – aka the Thousand Star Hotel – and above all for its pretty freschnies (“nice looking girls”) and their love stories that keep the blood pumping in the “Rue Princesse” (Princess Road), otherwise known as the Maquis (open-air restaurant) street. The street is home to Aya – a no-nonsense 19-year old girl who

prefers home study sessions to ni-ghtscapes with her girlfriends. Aya wants to be a doctor. Aya’s family: Ignace, her father and employee at the national beer brewery Solibra; her mother Fanta, executive secre-tary at Singer and healer in her spa-re time; her little brother Fofana, her little sister Akissi, and Felicity the maid that Aya gives a hand to for homework.

Aya’s days are spent in school, at home with family or with her two best friends Adjoua and Bintou, the latter two being more concerned with sneaking out at night to the maquis to dance with the galériens

thing but act snooty and pamper their son Moussa, destined to one day take over the family company.

Things get complicated with Ad-joua’s unplanned pregnancy. What should she do? Tell her family, or see the “lady who gets rid of pre-gnancies?” Moussa is baffled to learn that he’s the father and mor-tified by the idea of telling his dad, the great Bonaventure Sissoko, one of the wealthiest and most power-ful men in the country.

Following an explosive scene whe-re the truth comes out, Moussa’s

father who wants to avoid public scandal at any cost, hastily orga-nizes a secret wedding for his son with Adjoua. This upsets Aya’s fa-ther Ignace since he had hoped to marry his own daughter to Mous-sa.

To the Sissoko’s utmost surprise, when Adjoua gives birth a few months later to a boy, the baby doesn’t look like anyone, and espe-cially not like their son…

MArGuerite Abouet was born in 1971, in the working-class nei-ghborhood of Yopougon, in Abid-jan. She lives a happy and carefree life there until she is sent to study in Paris at 12 years old, under the care of a great uncle who is concerned with giving her the opportunity to have access to a higher education.After passing the Baccalaureat exam, she is forced to suspend her studies and work to survive and pay her rent – baby-sitting, waiting ta-bles, elder care and even night-shift secretarial work!

One day, her old television set breaks down. With no TV or radio, she has to find another occupation to keep her from going mad in such a small room – she turns to wri-ting. Writing becomes a therapy for Marguerite who uses it to channel

her memories and her endless ima-gination. She writes on anything and everything, from subway sce-nes to childhood memories.

Several years later, she goes back to school. After one year of studying law, she passes an exam to become an executive assistant, then another to be a legal assistant… she then spends six years working in law firms.

With the help of Clément Oubrerie, she creates “Aya de Yopougon,” a series in which she brings to life her childhood memories in Ivory Coast, spent spying on the adventu-res of her cousins and older peers in the neighborhood.

Marguerite has just finished writing the fourth episode of the Adven-tures of Aya and she is preparing

a number of other albums such as Le commissaire Kouamé, Akissi, Bienvenue,…

She is also a television screenwriter and works with René Pétillon.

CléMent oubrerie Clément Oubrerie was born in the suburbs of Paris in 1966. Almost 20 years la-ter, he enrolls at the Pennighen gra-phic art school in Paris. Three years later, he leaves the school to pursue new adventures in America. There, he publishes the first of a long se-ries of children’s books – up to 40 today. Clément settles down in New York where he does a variety of odd jobs to survive and pay his rent: baby-sit-ting, waiting tables or even painting butcher shop signs at the docks! When Clément returns to France, he founds a press agency specia-lized in computer graphics and diversifies his illustrating activity by entering the world of adverti-sing.

Clément receives the Prize for Best

Children’s Press Book at the Mon-treuil show in 2003, at a time when he begins to explore other media, and in particular animation, when he co-founds the studio La Station Animation. Short-films, series and pilots for feature-length films and commer-cials – La Station is involved in all types of animated projects, with a specialization in 3D.

He is also the graphic artist behind the animated series “Moot-Moot” (Canal +) written by French come-dians Eric and Ramzy.

Interested in the new potential of comic strips, he decides to have a go with “Aya de Yopougon” (Gal-limard), written by Marguerite Abouet and prized at the Festival of Angoulême in 2006. Three vo-lumes have already been released

and a fourth one is in the works. With the same publisher, he adapts “Zazie dans le metro”, a Raymond Queneau novel.

Prizes • Best First AlBum AnGoulêMe 2006• Prix tour d’ivoire 2007• Prix de lA GuAdelouPe 2007• Prix Bd du Point 2007• Prix du mArGouillAt 2007

Nominations• AnGoulême 2007• GloBes de cristAl 2007• Quills AwArds 2007 (usA ) • iGnAtz AwArds 2007 (usA )• eisner AwArds 2008 (usA )

• GlyPh comic AwArds 2008 (usA )• mAx And moritz-Preis 2008 (GermAny)

• Over 200,000 books sold in 2008 in France.

• Already available in 8 coun-tries, the series is listed by Publisher’s Weekly as one of the Top Ten graphic novels published in the US in 2007.

the “AyA de yoPouGon” series (GAllimArd) hAs met huGe suc-cess in Bookstores :

« The charming story of a smart teenage girl and her boy-crazy friends, set in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, during a period of peace in the 1970s. »Publisher’s Weekly besT of lisT

«Abouet’s lovely graphic novel about coming of age as an African teenage girl in the ’70s is a remin-der that life in Africa is always hard, but not always misery, war and squalor. »MonTreal Mirror

besT of lisT

« Best European book: Aya by Marguerite Abouet and Clément Oubrerie. An African expatriate and a Parisian artist tell charming slice-of-life story set in the Ivory Coast. » Panels and Pixels besT of lisT

« This engaging graphic novel about an older teen girl who is frustrated by less-forwardthinking friends and family is strengthened by memorable characters and uni-versal emotions. »booklisT

ediTor’s ChoiCe 2007

« Abouet, who was raised in Ivory Coast, has attempted to create so-mething very brave in Aya - an intimate portrait of the African world that exists outside the glare of the media spotlight. Occasionally it works. Oubrerie’s artwork is exacting; he sends the characters dancing and flirting and sweating through a backdrop of ochre and violet, and allows them little pause. »bosTon Globe

« The tones match the wry humour of the writing. »The Guardian

« Writer Marguerite Abouet and artist Clément Oubrerie deliver a fun and quick-witted tale of teen pleasures and troubles as the sen-sible Aya watches with fascination while her friends outwit their pa-rents and sometimes even themsel-ves in pursuit of fun times. »MeTro neWs

« Aya is more than just a good comic book. It’s a historical do-cument, a window into the recent past of a country whose better days weren’t so long ago. It’s a testament to the inherent humanity that crosses race and geographic borders. »neWsraMa’s besT shoTs

« Despite geographic and cultural differences, teenage girls (and boys) display common foibles, strengths and dreams, and Aya left this reader yearning for the next chapter in the lives of these vibrant and vivacious characters. »MiaMi herald

« Marguerite Abouet weaves her tale with a rich sense of character and a keen eye for detail, the two elements that invariably separate good melodrama from mere soap opera. She doesn’t call atten-tion to the specifics of life in the Ivory Coast; rather, she wraps her characters in subtle detail and lets them fulfill their roles at a natural pace, allowing incidental business to keep the eye busy while the story unfolds. »CoMiCs Journal

« D’origine ivoirienne, Marguerite Abouet raconte l’Afrique de son enfance, loin des guerres, de la famine ou du sida. On rit beaucoup à la lecture de cette chronique tendre et pleine de verve, émaillée d’idiomes rigolos, qu’illustre avec fraîcheur le dessin de Clément Oubrerie. »lire

« Un vrai coup de cœur. »le fiGaro

«C’est malin, hyper vivant, sensible et très humain, dans une VO ivoirienne fort poétique.»libéraTion

«Chauffe le cœur et brûle l’iris.»«Aya captive comme une savoureuse tranche d’Afrique, loin des clichés. »elle

« Un document hors pair sur la société ivoirienne de la fin des années 70… »« Une expérience profonde (qui) dépayse complètement le lecteur hexagonal sans qu’il se sente étranger à ce qui se joue. »le fiGaro liTTéraire

« Un festival de sons et de couleurs, une BD vitaminée à la bonne humeur. (…)Aya, c’est l’Afrique sans ses plaies, mais avec toutes ses couleurs, qui éclatent, brûlées de soleil, dans des planches tout en rondeurs où l’œil a l’impression de caresser les peaux sous le bariolé des tissus » le PoinT

« Un ton pétillant d’humour.»« Une chronique urbaine, lucide et généreuse, sans tape-à-l’œil, mais avec le souci du détail juste. »a nous Paris

« Une chronique sensible et pleine d’humour. À dévorer d’urgence.»Je bouquine

« Il se dégage de ce livre une sincérité et une douceur de vivre à « l’africaine » rare dans notre domaine. »bulldozer

« Une chronique sociale sensible, pleine d’humour et de saveur.»le Journal du diManChe

« Aya regorge de personnages savoureux et de péripéties pétillantes. C’est souvent drôle, parfois poétique»TéléraMa

« Des chroniques de vie, simples et réalistes, mais qui sont contées par l’ivoirienne Marguerite Abouet avec un talent tel que le récit en devient unique. Les dialogues, assaisonnés de ce nouchi (argot ivoirien) qui est un régal pour tous les amoureux de la langue de Molière, sert admirablement les dessins du français Clément Oubrerie. Très fidèle à la réalité et à l’esprit abidjanais, cette philosophie de vie qui mêle humour, dérision, vitalité et amour des figures de style, ces histoires parlent à tous les publics. »afriCa inTernaTional

« La langue, sensuelle et poétique, rafraîchit ; ce visage de l’Afrique ensorcelle »rollinG sTone

Autochenille Production, a com-pany dedicated to animated feature films and television series, was created in 2007 by Joann Sfar,Antoine Delesvaux and Clément Oubrerie.

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Autochenille Production

132 rue du faubourg Saint-Denis

75010 Paris

+33 153 263 787

info@autochenille-production.com

www.autochenille-production.com

ANTOINE DELESVAUX

Producer

+33 608 271 794

antoine@autochenille-production.com

JEANNE VERDIER

Development manager

+33 689 840 105

jeanne@autochenille-production.com

LAURENCE GAUTHIER

Public relations

+ 33 663 694 954

laurence@autochenille-production.com

Aya de Yopougon est édité par Gallimard

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