Cuties (Netflix)
Starring Fathia Youssouf as Amy, Médina El Aidi-Azouni as Angelica, Maïmouna Gueye as Mariam, Esther Gohourou as Coumba, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas as Jess, Myriam Hamma as Yasmine, Mbissine Therese Diop as the aunt
Directed by Maïmouna Doucouré
A huge, and as it turns out utterly misguided, debate has sprung up around this beautiful, sensitive depiction of an 11-year Senegalese black girl’s self-generated growth from childhood to maturity.
The film has been accused of ‘sexualizing’ children when in fact it does just the opposite. By showing the 11-year old protagonist Amy (the wonderful Fathia Youssouf) descend into premature adulthood the film actually crosses the line in pursuit of very uncomfortable questions regarding paedophilic reality shows where young children are exposed to a rampant voyeurism by judges (who should know better) giving points to girls for pouting and wriggling, thrusting and heaving imaginary bosoms.
So please don’t shoot the messenger.
Starring Fathia Youssouf as Amy, Médina El Aidi-Azouni as Angelica, Maïmouna Gueye as Mariam, Esther Gohourou as Coumba, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas as Jess, Myriam Hamma as Yasmine, Mbissine Therese Diop as the aunt
Directed by Maïmouna Doucouré
A huge, and as it turns out utterly misguided, debate has sprung up around this beautiful, sensitive depiction of an 11-year Senegalese black girl’s self-generated growth from childhood to maturity.
The film has been accused of ‘sexualizing’ children when in fact it does just the opposite. By showing the 11-year old protagonist Amy (the wonderful Fathia Youssouf) descend into premature adulthood the film actually crosses the line in pursuit of very uncomfortable questions regarding paedophilic reality shows where young children are exposed to a rampant voyeurism by judges (who should know better) giving points to girls for pouting and wriggling, thrusting and heaving imaginary bosoms.
So please don’t shoot the messenger.
- 9/16/2020
- by Subhash K Jha
- Bollyspice
Opinion'Cuties', a French drama that revolves around a group of pre-teen girls, ran into controversy recently as it was accused of sexualising them. Geetika MantriWhen I was around six or seven years old, I remember wearing a long skirt and top, looking in the mirror and trying to dance to ‘Chamma chamma’ from the 1998 Bollywood film China Gate. Starring Urmila Matondkar, 'Chamma chamma' is by all means an ‘item song’. While trying to copy Urmila’s moves, could my dancing be perceived as suggestive? Sure. But was I trying to be sexy or feeling sexual? No. Cuties, a French drama that revolves around four pre-teen girls, ran into controversy recently as it was accused of sexualising young girls. The film, the first feature by Maïmouna Doucouré, released on Netflix recently, and stars Fathia Youssouf, Médina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas and Maïmouna Gueye. Fathia plays 11-year-old Amy, a Muslim Senegalese immigrant with orthodox upbringing,...
- 9/14/2020
- by Geetika
- The News Minute
Here’s what Cuties, the debut feature from French-Senegalese filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouré, is: the story of an 11-year-old named Amy (Fathia Youssouf) who’s stuck watching her family fall apart and is trying to find a place for herself in the world. Here’s what it is not: a salacious bit of pedo-bait designed to appeal to baser instincts rather than better angels. To be fair, Netflix — the company that purchased this slice-of-life drama at Sundance, where Doucouré won the Best Directing award in the fest’s World Cinema Dramatic...
- 9/9/2020
- by David Fear
- Rollingstone.com
“Cuties” director Maïmouna Doucouré says her film, which premiered at the Sundance Film Festival last Thursday, mirrors her experience as a young girl, when she wanted to be a boy because of the “injustices” towards women she saw around her.
“I was born in France, I grew up there and this movie is about a lot of traditions I saw when I was young, because when I was a child, my dream was to be a boy,” Doucouré told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman at the festival. “I didn’t want to be a girl because of a lot of injustices I saw around me. Because of that, I was praying [to] God at 6, 7 years old to make me a boy. I saw that the world could be better and easier as a guy.”
She added, “I grew up in both cultures — my parents are from Senegal and I also have the Western culture.
“I was born in France, I grew up there and this movie is about a lot of traditions I saw when I was young, because when I was a child, my dream was to be a boy,” Doucouré told TheWrap’s Sharon Waxman at the festival. “I didn’t want to be a girl because of a lot of injustices I saw around me. Because of that, I was praying [to] God at 6, 7 years old to make me a boy. I saw that the world could be better and easier as a guy.”
She added, “I grew up in both cultures — my parents are from Senegal and I also have the Western culture.
- 1/28/2020
- by Beatrice Verhoeven
- The Wrap
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