Netflix removes Cuties from catalog in Turkey

ISTANBUL

Online broadcaster Netflix removed the movie ‘Cuties,’ which Turkish watchdog had ordered to block access due to images of child exploitation, from its movie catalog in Turkey.

“After the Radio and Television Supreme Council’s (RTÜK) demanded, we have decided to postpone the release date of the movie in Turkey,” said the speaker of Netflix.

The movie, which tells the story of an 11-year-old girl trying to join a dance group, was supposed to be broadcasted on Sept. 9.

Turkey’s Family, Labor and Social Services Ministry applied to RTÜK on Aug. 23 after a massive online campaign that started against the movie. In less than 24 hours, around 25,000 people signed the online petition calling RTÜK to stop access to the movie.

The movie has been criticized by conservative groups in other countries as well, including the U.S.

The director of the polemical movie, Maimouna Doucoure, won the “Best Director” award in the World Movies category in this year’s Sundance Movie Festival.