Cuties director Maïmouna Doucouré has explained that she and those who have criticised her movie are actually fighting the “same fight”.
The director pointed out that Cuties, released in France under the title Mignonnes, did not encounter the same backlash when it aired at the Sundance Film Festival in January.
Doucouré, meanwhile, has said the film aims precisely to denounce a culture that inappropriately sexualises girls.
The backlash against Cuties has become politicised in the US, where Texas Senator Ted Cruz called on the Department of Justice to investigate the film’s production and distribution.