Cuties

Cuties (French: Mignonnes) is a 2020 French teen coming-of-age comedy drama film written and directed by Maïmouna Doucouré on her feature film directorial debut.[1] The film stars Fathia Youssouf, Médina El Aidi-Azouni and Maïmouna Gueye in the lead roles. The film is based on a traditional Senegalese Muslim girl who is caught and torn between two contrasting fortunes, traditional values and internet culture while also speaks about hyper sexualization of pre-adolescent girls.[2][3] The plot of the film also drew comparisons resembling similar to few prominent films such as The Fits, a 2015 American drama film directed by Anna Rose Holmer, 2019 French-Senegalese drama film Atlantics directed by Mati Diop and Girlhood, a 2014 French drama film directed by Céline Sciamma.[4] The film was premiered in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition sector of 2020 Sundance Film Festival on 23 January 2020 and won the Directing Jury Award praising the script of the film.[5][6][7]

Not to be confused with Cuties Island.
Cuties
Film poster
FrenchMignonnes
Directed byMaïmouna Doucouré
Produced byZangro
StarringFathia Youssouf
Médina El Aidi-Azouni
Maïmouna Gueye
Music byNicolas Nocchi
Production
company
Bien out Bien Productions
France 3 Cinéma
Distributed byBac Films
Netflix
Release date
  • 23 January 2020 (2020-01-23) (Sundance)
Running time
95 minutes
CountryFrance
LanguageFrench
BudgetUS$4 million

Cast
  • 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
  • Demba Diaw
  • Mamadou Samaké

Synopsis

Eleven year old immigrant girl Amy (Fathia Youssouf), originally hailing from Senegal lives with her mother Mariam (Maïmouna Gueye) in one of the Paris poorest neighbourhoods in an apartment along with her two younger brothers awaiting for her father to rejoin the family from Senegal. Things turn swiftly as Amy is fascinated by a disobedient neighbour Angelica's (Médina El Aidi-Azouni) free spirited dance clique called Cuties, an hiphop troupe which has contrasting fortunes and characteristics to Mariam's traditional customs, values and traditions.[8]

Production

The film was announced by filmmaker Maïmouna Doucouné as her debut directorial venture who rose to limelight and prominence with her award-winning 2016 short film Maman(s) which was selected and premiered in over 200 film festivals and also won around 60 awards in several international film festivals.[9] Maïmouna penned the script for the film taking her life experience as a refugee girl into account. The script eventually won the Sundance's Global Filmmaking Award in 2017.[10]

The casting procedure for the film was held for nearly six months and Fathia Youssouf, a 11-year-old girl among the 650 candidates was chosen to play the female main lead role in the film after being auditioned.[11] In January 2020, after the film premiere at the Sundance Film Festival, Netflix purchased the worldwide rights of the film excluding France to release the film in the platform.[12]

Release and reception

The film was premiered in few international film festivals including the 2020 Sundance Film Festival, 70th Berlin International Film Festival (22 February 2020) and was originally supposed to have its theatrical release in France on 1 April 2020 coinciding with the April Fool's Day but the theatrical release was called off due to the COVID-19 pandemic in France.[13] The film was released in 40 languages. Cuties was just one of three French films to be screened at the 2020 Sundance Film Festival.[14][15] It was globally streamed via Netflix on 3 June 2020 excluding France and received positive reviews from critics.[16][17]

As of June 2020, the film holds an 82% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, based on 17 reviews with an average rating of 7.21 out of 10.[18]

References
  1. "Cuties". new.bacfilms.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  2. Halligan, Fionnuala (2020-01-24). "'Cuties': Sundance Review". Screen. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  3. "'Cuties' ('Mignonnes'): Film Review | Sundance 2020". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  4. "'Cuties' Film Review: Provocative Coming-of-Age Tale Makes for an Explosive Debut". TheWrap. 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  5. Erbland, Kate (2020-01-24). "'Cuties' Review: Netflix Coming-of-Age Tale Goes for the Supernatural When Real Life Is Enough". IndieWire. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  6. Nicholson, Amy (2020-01-24). "'Cuties': Film Review". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  7. Hipes, Patrick (2020-02-02). "Sundance Film Festival Awards: 'Minari' Scores Double Top Honors – The Complete Winners List". Deadline. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  8. http://www.allocine.fr/film/fichefilm_gen_cfilm=258
  9. "Mignonnes | Cuties | Die Süßen". www.berlinale.de (in German). Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  10. Goodfellow, Melanie (2020-01-24). "Director Maïmouna Doucouré reveals the "shocking" inspiration behind Sundance drama 'Cuties'". Screen. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  11. Dale, Martin (2020-01-14). "French Producer Zangro on Sundance Entry 'Cuties,' and Upcoming Project". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  12. Dale, Martin (2020-01-14). "Netflix Buys World Rights to Maimouna Doucouré's Sundance-Player 'Cuties'". Variety. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  13. "Bac Films to take Cuties and Wildland to Sundance and Berlin". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  14. "3 French films in competition at Sundance". en.unifrance.org. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  15. "Review: Cuties". Cineuropa - the best of european cinema. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  16. "Cuties | Netflix Official Site". www.netflix.com. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  17. "Netflix's 'Cuties' is a Heartbreaking Coming-of-Age Film, Both Modern and Timeless". Decider. 2020-01-24. Retrieved 2020-06-12.
  18. "Cuties (Mignonnes) (2020)". Retrieved 12 June 2020 – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.