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Cuties (French: Mignonnes) is a 2020 French 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.[2]

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.

Plot

Amy, an 11-year-old girl from Senegal, lives with her mother Mariam and two younger brothers, one of them named Ishmael, in an apartment in one of Paris' poorest neighbourhoods. She is angered by her polygynous father, who is preparing to return with a second wife. She is also bored with Islamic culture that her aunt seeks to impose on her. Amy is fascinated by her disobedient neighbour Angelica's pre-teen twerking clique, the Cuties, which is in stark contrast to Mariam's Muslim customs. They do not hesitate to adopt revealing outfits against their older rivals, the Sweety Swags. In the quest for online recognition, Amy decides to incorporate suggestive dance moves into the choreography. After getting pantsed for fighting with Sweety Swags, she steals her cousin’s phone and sends a photo of her vulva online to a social network in an attempt to look mature, backfiring heavily with her being ostracised, also causing a rift between her and the Cuties who kick her out, replaced with former member Yasmine. Her mother also confronts her for committing such indecency. She and her aunt try performing an exorcism on Amy, but it fails.

While her father's wedding day corresponds to the finale at the Parc de la Villette, she is determined to dance with them, and sneaks out of the house. She pushes Yasmine into a canal, so the Cuties have no choice but to allow her to dance with them. The highly suggestive dance routine polarizes audiences. Suddenly thinking about her mother during the routine, Amy bursts into tears and leaves before their performance ends. Upon her return, she runs into her aunt, who blames her for her outfit and recent attitude. Amy's mother intervenes by telling her to leave her daughter alone and then hugs her to reassure her. Amy's aunt implores her mother to not allow her to attend the wedding in order to demonstrate her disapproval. Amy's mother permits her not to go, but states that she herself must go to fulfill her duty as a wife. In the end, Amy abandons both the traditional wedding dress and her provocative dancer's outfit, living a normal youth lifestyle.

Cast

Fathia Youssouf as Amy

Médina El Aidi-Azouni as Angelica

Maïmouna Gueye as Mariam, Amy's mother

Esther Gohourou as Coumba, a member of the Cuties

Ilanah Cami-Goursolas as Jess, another member of the Cuties

Myriam Hamma as Yasmine, another member of the Cuties

Mbissine Therese Diop as Amy's aunt

Demba Diaw as Ishmael, Amy's brother

Mamadou Samaké as Samba