The film, which was originally titled Mignonne, is slated to release on September 9.
Turkey’s media watchdog Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) has ordered Netflix to remove the French feature film Cuties for allegedly promoting the exploitation of minors. The film, which was originally titled Mignonne, is slated to release on September 9.
The film revolves around Amy, an 11-year-old girl, who joins a group of dancers named “the cuties” at school, and rapidly grows aware of her burgeoning femininity – upsetting her mother and her values in the process.
A board report judged that such a film, “containing exploitation and abuse, might lead to potential child exploitation behaviour patterns emerging”.
The watchdog took the decision unanimously, receiving votes from the board members who were elected by the opposition parties. In a press release, RTUK said: “It was unanimously decided that the broadcaster should remove the programme in question from its catalogue.”
Directed by Maimouna Doucoure, Cuties was an award winner this year at Sundance Film Festival.
The decision to block the screening of Cuties in Turkey follows recent media reports of the Turkish government’s interference in another Netflix series titled If Only, due to the show’s inclusion of a gay character.
