Amy, 11, lives in Paris in the 19th arrondissement in a family from Senegal. Oscillating between traditionalism and desire for modernity, the young girl struggles to find her place in a world where she is no longer really a child but not yet an adult, despite the family responsibilities to which she is constrained.

Until the day she meets the Mignonnes, a group of college girls of the same age and passionate about twerking.
Amy joins the group with the fierce determination to assert herself and win the upcoming dance competition. No matter the cost and despite the conventions.

A film by Maïmouna DOUCOURÉ

France, 2019, Feature Narrative, Drama

starring Fathia Youssouf Abdillahi, Medina El Aidi, Esther Gohourou and Maïmouma Guèye

First Feature Narrative

Alice Guy Award 2021,
World Cinema Dramatic Best Director Award at the Sundance Film Festival,
Special Mention Generation Kplus at the Berlinale
César 2021 for Best New Female Director won by Fathia Youssouf. Released in theatres by Bac Films in summer 2020
available worldwide on Netflix


Recommendation: 12 years and up (Berlinale 2020)

RUN TIME: 96 min
Original Title (French): MIGNONNES
International Title (English): CUTIES
German Title: Die Süßen
YEAR: 2019
COUNTRY: France
LANGUAGE: French
SUBTITLES: Yes, with English subtitles

NOTE BY THE PROGRAMMER
Eleven-year-old Amy lives with her mom, Mariam, and younger brother, awaiting her father to rejoin the family from Senegal. Amy is fascinated by disobedient neighbor Angelica's free-spirited dance clique, a group that stands in sharp contrast to stoic Mariam's deeply held traditional values. Undeterred by the girls' initial brutal dismissal and eager to escape her family's simmering dysfunction, Amy, through an ignited awareness of her burgeoning femininity, propels the group to enthusiastically embrace an increasingly sensual dance routine, sparking the girls' hope to twerk their way to stardom at a local dance contest.

With a keen eye for and an understanding of adolescent behavior, Maïmouna Doucouré-whose short film Maman(s) won the Short Film International Fiction Jury Award at the 2016 Sundance Film Festival-focuses tightly on her rowdy protagonists, crafting a spirited film that nimbly depicts the tweens' youthful energy and vulnerabilities while exploring their fumbling eagerness to be identified as sexualized. Fathia Youssouf captivates as Amy, shifting like a chameleon between the different identities her character is juggling and deftly anchoring the film's immensely watchable, vivacious young cast.
www.sundance.org/projects/cuties

Executive Producer:
Zangro

Film director:
Maïmouna Doucouré

Screenwriter:
Maïmouna Doucouré

Script Consultants:
Alice Winocour
Valentine Milville
Nathalie Saugeon

Cinematographer:
Yann Maritaud

Composer:
Nicolas Nocchi

Editors:
Stéphane Mazalaigue
Mathilde Van De Moortel

Casting Directors:
Tania Arana,
Angélique Vergara,
Kenza Barrah

Press Attaché:
François Hassan - Guerrar and Co

CAST
Fathia Youssouf AKA Fathia Youssouf Abdillahi (Amy)
Médina El Aidi-Azouni AKA Medina El Aidi (Angelica)
Esther Gohourou (Coumba)
Ilanah Cami-Goursolas (Jess)
Myriam Hamma (Yasmine)
Demba Diaw (Ismael)
Maïmouma Gueye (Mariam, mother of Amy & Ismael)
Thérèse Mbissine Diop (Aunt)
Mamadou Samaké (Samba)
Bilel Chegrani (Clement W.)
Jean-Paul Castro (Angelica's brother)
Vincent Vidal
Nouamen Maâmar

Production Companies:
Bien ou Bien Productions
France 3 Cinéma

World Sales:
Bac Films Distribution

Distribution (France):
Bac Films

Streaming:
Netflix
www.netflix.com/

French Released on June 30, 2019 (postponed on 19 August 2020)


2020 | 70th Berlinale, Germany
* Special Mention of the Jury (Category: Generation Kplus)
www.berlinale.de/en/archive-2020/programme/detail/202011923.html

2020 | Festival Sundance Film Festival, USA
* Winner: Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic)
* World Cinema Dramatic Competition
www.sundance.org/projects/cuties
www.sundance.org/2020-sundance-film-festival-program-guide/WOR-guide/

2017 | Festival Sundance, USA
* Selection: project CUTIES (MIGNONNES)
* Winner: Sundance Institute Global Filmmaking Award
www.sundance.org/projects/cuties

2016 | Workshop "Scénario : puissance & âme", by Groupe Ouest Développement, France
* Maïmouna Doucouré participated for the writing of her feature CUTIES (MIGNONNES).

_________________

DE

„Kannst du tanzen?"- „Nein, aber ich kann es lernen."- „Lern erst mal, dich richtig anzuziehen."

Bin ich noch ein Mädchen oder schon eine Frau? Und wenn ich eine Frau bin, was für eine möchte ich dann sein? Der elfjährigen Amy fehlen die Worte für derlei Fragen. Und Antworten hat sie gleich gar keine. In ihren Konflikten drücken sich die Gegensätze aus, die Amy in ihrem Umfeld wahrnimmt: hier die konservative, polygame, senegalesische Großfamilie, die gerade nach Paris gezogen ist, da die Mitschülerinnen, die für einen Tanzwettbewerb trainieren, um sich gegenüber den älteren Mädchen zu behaupten. Sie imitieren Bewegungen aus Musikvideos und inszenieren sich in stereotypen Posen, deren Wirkung ihnen noch kaum bewusst ist. Amys Versuch, in beiden Welten zu bestehen, führt zu Spannungen und Enttäuschungen und zwingt sie zu ständiger Verwandlung.

von Maïmouna Doucouré

Frankreich 2019, Französisch / Wolof, 96' Farbe

mit Fathia Youssouf, Médina El Aidi-Azouni, Esther Gohourou, Ilanah Cami-Goursolas, Myriam Hamma, Demba Diaw, Mbissine Thérèse Diop, Mamadou Samaké, Bilel Chegrani

empfohlen ab 12 Jahren

Regie, Buch
Maïmouna Doucouré

Kamera
Yann Maritaud

Montage
Stéphane Mazalaigue

Musik
Nicolas Nocchi

Sound Design
Vincent Cosson

Ton
Clément Maléo

Production Design
Julie Wassef

Kostüm
Valérie Ranchoux-Carta

Maske
Maëla Gervais

Regieassistenz
Inès de la Bévière

Casting
Tania Arana

Production Manager
Olivier Sarfati

Produzent
Zangro

Mit
Fathia Youssouf (Amy)
Médina El Aidi-Azouni (Angelica)
Esther Gohourou (Coumba)
Ilanah Cami-Goursolas (Jess)
Myriam Hamma (Yasmine)
Demba Diaw (Ismael)
Thérèse Mbissine Diop (Tante)
Mamadou Samaké (Samba)
Bilel Chegrani (Clement W.)

Produktion
Bien ou Bien Productions (Bordeaux, Frankreich)
France 3 Cinéma (Paris, Frankreich)

Weltvertrieb
Bac Films Distribution
Paris, Frankreich
+33 1 80491000


2020 | 70th Berlinale, Germany
* Special Mention of the Jury (Category: Generation Kplus)
www.berlinale.de/de/archiv-2020/programm/detail/202011923.html

2020 | Festival Sundance Film Festival, USA
* Winner: Directing Award: World Cinema Dramatic)
* World Cinema Dramatic Competition
www.sundance.org/projects/cuties
www.sundance.org/2020-sundance-film-festival-program-guide/WOR-guide/