Autochenille Production

présents

The Movie
Directed by
Marguerite Abouet et Clément Oubrerie
© Gallimard Jeunesse
« 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 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
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
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
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
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
(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-
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- a number of other albums such as
gination. She writes on anything Le commissaire Kouamé, Akissi,
and everything, from subway sce- Bienvenue,…
nes to childhood memories.
She is also a television screenwriter
Several years later, she goes back to and works with René Pétillon.
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
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- and a fourth one is in the works.
treuil show in 2003, at a time when With the same publisher, he adapts
he begins to explore other media, “Zazie dans le metro”, a Raymond
and in particular animation, when Queneau novel.
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
The “Aya de Yopougon” series (Gallimard) has met huge suc-
cess in bookstores :
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 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.

.
 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
Tous droits réservés Autochenille Production - Gallimard

+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

dans la collection Bayou