Cuties (2020)

Cuties (French: Mignonnes) is a 2020 French coming-of-age drama film written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré in her feature directorial debut. The film's ensemble cast is led by Fathia Youssouf who portrays Amy, a Senegalese-French girl with a traditional Muslim upbringing who is caught between traditional Muslim values and Internet culture when she joins a twerking dance crew. Doucouré was inspired to write the script upon seeing a suggestive youth talent show one day, as well as from her experience as a Senegalese-French person. She said that it is intended to criticise the hypersexualisation of pre-adolescent girls, and that she logged over 18 months of research on the topic. The script later won an award at the 2017 Sundance Film Festival. Casting took six months, with 700 girls being auditioned for the role of Amy. Principal photography lasted three months, with a psychologist assisting the child actresses throughout. Cuties premiered at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival on 23 January, where Doucouré won the Directing Award. It was released in France on 19 August 2020 by BAC Films and internationally on 9 September 2020 on Netflix. While critical response to the film was mostly positive, including some award nominations, it became a subject of controversy, starting from Netflix's initial promotional poster that was widely considered inappropriate. Following its release on Netflix, the film polarized audiences, in part due to sexually suggestive scenes involving the child actors.