Houston (United States) (AFP)
In Texas, Netflix is the subject of criminal proceedings for the French film "Mignonnes", accused of hypersexualizing young girls and which in September had sparked a controversy in this conservative state in the south of the United States.
The American streaming platform was indicted on September 15 by a grand jury in Tyler County, east of Houston, a document released Tuesday by a local elected official reveals.
According to the prosecution, Netflix has "knowingly promoted" visuals that would portray the "obscene display" of the genitals of minors, soliciting a "lustful interest in sex", a crime punishable by prison in the Conservative state.
The Tyler County Clerk confirmed to AFP that "no hearing date" has "been set yet."
"Cuties", the American title of Maïmouna Doucouré's film, evokes the story of Amy, an 11-year-old Parisian pre-teen who joins a dance group formed by three other girls from her neighborhood, whose choreographies are sometimes suggestive.
The grand jury also ruled that the film had "no real literary, artistic, political or scientific value."
A spokesperson for Netflix defended the film to AFP on Tuesday: "Mignonnes is a social column against the sexualization of young children. This accusation is unfounded and we continue to support the film."
In September, Republican Senator from Texas Ted Cruz, who had not seen the film, called on the Justice Department to investigate possible breaches of laws prohibiting child pornography.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton joined two colleagues to ask Netflix to remove the film from its platform.
In France, the Minister of Culture Roselyne Bachelot took up the defense of Maïmouna Doucouré last month, denouncing criticisms which "are based on a series of reductive and decontextualized images of the film".
The intention given to the director, she asserted, is "in total contradiction with the purpose of her work".
© 2020 AFP