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Woubi Chéri

Name: Woubi Chéri
Director: Laurent Bocahut, Philip Brooks
Released: 1998
Duration: 62 min

Representation Score

7.2/10

Good

1998

Director

Laurent Bocahut, Philip Brooks

Runtime

62 minutes

Average Rating

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New Showbiz Analysis

Woubi Chéri is a vital piece of multi-layered cinema that breaks down traditional hierarchies of visibility. By focusing on the ability to act of the woubi community, the film disrupts conventional global expectations of how African identities are presented. The documentary goes beyond simple inclusion to provide a nuanced exploration of how identity, gender, and culture intersect. It captures the assertion of space for non-traditional identities through ethnographic intimacy. Ultimately, the film serves as a progressive example of storytelling that prioritizes identity-based solidarity over state or religious cohesion.

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Category Breakdown

Does Woubi Chéri have LGBTQ+ representation?

Excellent

The film focuses on the lives of the woubi and yossi communities in Abidjan, giving them central roles rather than treating them as secondary subjects.

How does Woubi Chéri portray gender?

Excellent

By documenting the Ivory Coast Transvestite Association, the film challenges traditional gender binaries. It portrays gender as a flexible and performative aspect within West African culture.

How racially and ethnically diverse is Woubi Chéri?

Excellent

The work offers an authentic, non-Western perspective by centering a Black, West African cast. It avoids an outsider's viewpoint to provide an insider's view of urban subcultures.

How does Woubi Chéri represent religion and culture?

Excellent

The documentary explores themes of social survival and community-building. It highlights a community living in tension with dominant, rigid societal and traditional institutions.

Does Woubi Chéri include disability representation?

Minimal

There is no significant evidence regarding the portrayal of physical or neurodivergent disabilities in this work.

Present on Screen

Centers the ability to act of the woubi and yossi communities as active protagonists.
Challenges gender binaries through the documentation of transgender social structures.
Provides an authentic, internal West African perspective on identity and urban subculture.

Limited or Absent

Lacks visible representation or discussion regarding physical or neurodivergent disabilities.

Official Synopsis

This documentary shows a few days in the life of various members of Abdijan, Ivory Coast's gay and transgender community. We get to meet a variety of woubis, yossis, etc. The hero/heroine of the film is a statuesque young man named Barbara who is organising the annual year-end party of the Ivory Coast Tranvestite Association, to be held December 27, 1997.

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