Cuties

Netflix debuts internationally 'Cuties', a film by Maïmouna Doucouré, director and writer of this drama that has been preselected to represent France at the Oscars 2021 in the Best International Picture category. Fathia Youssouf Abdillahi stars in the film as Amy, an eleven year old girl with a very strict family. To run away from her house's rules she joins a dance team at her school, a group of girls who call themselves "cuties". Her mother is totally appalled by the idea of her daughter being part of something so hypersexual, but Amy will start to think about things that her claustrophobic environment never let her think about. All the young actresses debut in this film, who had in the shooting a child therapist to ensure everyone's experience. Despite that, the film starred in a very big controversy when it became available at Netflix, because the streaming plattform chose a picture to show it that sexualized the girls too much. The streaming service changed the picture and said they were sorry, but they faced a huge boycott and they lost a great amount of subscribers. Maïmouna Doucouré defended her movie, claiming that it's message is precisely to condemn hypersexualization of girls, not encouraging it.