She understands that world, she has lived in that world, and the ability that she has to bring us into that experience is incredibly special,” says Yutani, who was familiar with and a fan of Doucouré from her earlier work MAMAN(S). “For someone like Maïmouna, her experience as a Black, French, Muslim woman, you can feel that in Cuties. “I was trying to recreate the little girl who I was at that age, giving her a voice, and looking at what it means to become a woman,” Doucouré says of Amy, Cuties’ protagonist.įor Kim Yutani, the director of programming at Sundance, the film’s strength lies in its authenticity. It’s Doucouré’s own lived history that forms the connections between MAMAN(S) and Cuties. Her 2016 short film MAMAN(S), which also won an award at Sundance that year, explored similar themes of complex family dynamics and growing up between different cultures. She grew up in Paris to Senegalese Muslim parents, living with her nine siblings and two mothers in a polygamous family. Since the controversy over the poster, actor Tessa Thompson, who saw Cuties at Sundance, as well as senior ministers in the French government, have defended Doucouré and the film.Īs with other French filmmakers of West African descent, including Ladj Ly ( Les Misérables) and Mati Diop ( Atlantics), Doucouré’s personal experiences have deeply informed her art. Speaking with TIME from her native Paris, Doucouré says she can understand the reaction from those who saw only Netflix’s advertising for the film, which “didn’t really represent the film properly.” “I just hope that these people will watch the film, because then they will realise we are actually on the same side of this battle against the hypersexualization of children,” she says. Inspired by music videos and social media, the girl group learn and practice provocative and sexualized choreography in preparation for a dance competition, a world far from her conservative home life.Ĭuties has received overwhelming support and acclaim from the international film industry, the French government and viewers in France and beyond. Searching for a sense of belonging, Amy becomes increasingly transfixed with a local group of young dancers, the eponymous Cuties. 19 to a positive reception, Cuties follows 11-year-old Amy, a young Senegalese Muslim girl growing up in a poor neighborhood in Paris. Already released in French cinemas on Aug.
3, Turkey’s media watchdog ordered Netflix to remove the film from its platform in the country, based on allegations that it contains images of child exploitation.īut Doucouré’s work strikes the opposite chord. 20 for its “ inappropriate” artwork for the film’s advertising. At least two petitions garnering nearly 500,000 signatures are circulating calling for Netflix to pull the film, with one alleging that its content is “for the viewing pleasure of pedophiles.” The streaming service apologized on Aug. Observers on social media jumped to the conclusion that the film sexualizes young children. In a step away from the original French theatrical poster, Netflix’s artwork portrayed the movie’s four young female lead actors in provocative clothing and poses. In a statement to TIME, a Netflix spokesperson called Cuties “a social commentary against the sexualization of young children,” adding that “It’s an award-winning film and a powerful story about the pressure young girls face on social media and from society more generally growing up - and we’d encourage anyone who cares about these important issues to watch the movie.” How Netflix’s marketing sparked controversy
Yet the furor has grown since the film’s release, as “#CancelNetflix” became the top trending topic in the U.S. Cuties was one of the first to be invited to the festival and the worldwide rights were acquired by Netflix before its premiere. “It’s been an odd time for me, because this film started its career very, very well,” says Doucouré, who won the prestigious Directing Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition section of Sundance Film Festival earlier this year. 19, Doucouré has received intense criticism, attacks and even death threats-by people who have not even seen the film. “This film tries to show that our children should have the time to be children, and we as adults should protect their innocence and keep them innocent as long as possible.”īut since Netflix’s promotional materials for Cuties launched on Aug. “For me, this film is sounding an alarm,” the French Senegalese director told TIME, ahead of the worldwide release of Cuties on Netflix on Sept. Maïmouna Doucouré did not imagine that her award-winning debut feature film-a coming-of-age tale drawn from her personal experiences-would spark international controversy and calls for a boycott.
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