Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids (2004) User Reviews (111)

A testimony to the transforming power of art

[howard.schumann · 8/10 · 28 February 2005]

In India, red light districts are booming in cities like Mumbai, Delhi, and Calcutta where millions of transient men live and work far away from their homes and wives. The oldest and the largest of these is Sonagachi in Calcutta where the women have organized into a sex trade union of more than 5,000 active workers and have spread awareness about AIDS and HIV, making Sonagachi one of the few red light districts in the country that does not accept clients without condoms. Subject to a class system that puts them on the lowest rung of Indian society, the mostly illegitimate children of the sex workers are also expected to "join the line" when they reach a certain age. Minor girls are the most sought after in the brothels and secure the highest price, making it very difficult for the parents to let them leave, especially when the only other alternative may be the starvation of their entire family.

In 1997, photographer Zana Briski was assigned to capture images of Sonagachi. While the women were reluctant to let her into their lives, the children quickly responded and Briski became a resident of the brothel for five years. During that time, she provided the children with point and shoot cameras, set up classes in photography, and trained them to document the harsh reality of their daily lives. The result is the Oscar nominated documentary Born Into Brothels, a film that takes us inside the squalid brothels and allows us to see the world through the eyes of some of its most vulnerable residents, five girls and three boys, ages ten to fourteen. Shot in dazzling color using a digital camera, we get to know the children through their photos.

There is Kochi, age 10, who is strong, resilient, tough, and sensitive. Avijit, age 12, seems to be the most talented of the group. He draws, paints, takes pictures and, through Briski's patient efforts, was able to obtain a passport to be a part of a photo-editing panel in Amsterdam. Shanti, age 11, is most eager to learn but is troubled and often feuds with her brother Manik. The others: Gour, Puja, Tapasi, and Suchitra all show a unique ability to find beauty in their ugly environment. The film documents Briski's uphill efforts to place the children in boarding schools to escape the cycle of poverty and exploitation. Some manage to find places in the schools but the biggest obstacle is shown to be the children's own mothers and guardians, often protective out of the sheer necessity for survival.

Born Into Brothels is a testimony to the transforming power of art and of one individual's ability to make a difference. Showing the children's art to Western audiences has helped to raise money for the Sonagachi children's education. It may also serve to make people more aware of the potential talent of millions of other third world children who struggle daily for existence on the streets, the orphanages, and the refugee camps of our teeming world.

Moving but flawed Documentary

[jotyler65 · 7/10 · 4 March 2005]

It would certainly take a filmmaker of much self-consciousness, something which Zana Briski certainly possesses, to make this film the way she has. Having met with uncooperative roadblocks to shooting a documentary about sex-workers and their families within the squalid confines of Calcutta's red-light district, Briski states early on that she decides to have the children themselves tell their story by supplying them with automatic cameras to use in their own personal ways. The film, however, ultimately becomes an account of one outsider's attempt to save these children from their miserable fates - poverty and sexual abuse. With the children's sex-worker mothers and families, many of whom have apparently spent generations in the district with no escape in sight, used as background elements, Briski focuses solely on the children, entering them into an informal photography seminar where they gather to share contact sheets of their pictures and discuss the problems of shooting amidst uncooperative and hostile subjects and why certain pictures work and why some don't. Thankfully, Briski also interviews the children, and while it's not clear they understand her theories on picture composition, they are, despite being denied education and living amidst fairly brutal conditions of abuse, poverty and indentured servitude, very perceptive and wise to the unfortunate conditions in which they live, their prospects and possess an awareness of the possibilities of life outside of the district. Briski becomes further involved with the children by trying to enter them into school, though most will not accept them because they are the children of sex workers. Indeed, it is the indifference of Indian authorities to the children's plight as much as the abuse they receive from their depraved parents that shocks the viewer. Briski, with some help from some photographic arts people in the United States and Amnesty International, is able to use the children's pictures as a commercial vehicle to raise money to enable them to enroll in a private boarding school (the kids are well aware that education is their only way out of the brothels). Here, Briski's movement somewhat takes over the movie from her subjects, proving how futile western notions of compassionate aid often are to endemic and grave third-world situations like we witness here. This is driven home when of the kids accepted into the boarding school, only one eventually remains because of the economic pressures put upon their families in which the children essentially act as indentured servants, performing household tasks day and night and odd jobs for additional income. So, while the film becomes a parade for Briski's noble cause, I would have liked to have seen more background and interaction between the children and their surroundings, other than simply as child photographers who have been given a brief and, for most of them, fleeting reprieve from their depraved surroundings.

Oh Calcutta!

[jotix100 · 8/10 · 19 February 2006]

The film makers of this documentary take the viewer into areas that would have been off limits to anyone wanting to explore the life of the children of some Calcutta prostitutes. About ten children are showcased in the film as one of the directors of the documentary, Zana Briski, involves the children in something positive as she teaches them how to use the camera in capturing the world around them.

In gaining the children's confidence, they, in turn, tell us about how they see life in that hostile environment. Most of the girls shown in the film would probably end up in the same situation their mothers went through, as it appears life for them is a vicious circle in which there is no escape. For the boys, in spite of the natural talent shown as they take pictures, the mean streets of Calcutta don't promise much either.

As a documentary, Ms. Briski and Mr. Kauffman, show us how they were able to give the children a different way to look at life, but one wonders what has happened after they finished their work. Are these young girls and boys better off because this experience, or did they go back to the only way of life they knew about?

"Born into Brothels" is a sad commentary on our society at large, because where there is poverty, as it's the case in Calcutta, women will resort into the kind of life where they can get by without any education or skills. These women are actually the victims of a system that penalizes them for just being in the wrong place, at the wrong time.

Let's hope Ms. Briski and Mr. Kaufamn were able to instill in these young girls and boys the idea of looking for something better in their lives if they escape the poor surroundings in which they were born into.

An incredible and meaningful experience

[kurtz-1 · 7/10 · 16 December 2004]

This film should be seen by everyone who has any sense of what the world is and can be if we give our attention and empathy to make it a better place --in the background I hear the greed and anger of Donald Trump and it is so jarring (and sad) and disturbing ....it is absolutely amazing the dedication and caring of Zana Briski an Ross Kauffman and their attempt to support and change the destinies of these poor unfortunate children who are doomed to a life of humiliation, poverty and human degradation. It is uplifting to know that there are people who care --who are not driven by greed and avarice-- who will try , no matter what the odds are, no matter what are the bureaucratic difficulties to help and support these poor unfortunate children .. I know that I have been immensely moved by this film and what is going on in a place like the red light district of Calcutta and will do what I can to make some impact with these unfortunate children in all of the various venues that these people have chosen to work in and do these miraculous things that are they are doing.

Don't miss this inspiring jewel of a film that concretely gives hope and shows us life through the photography and vivacity of children, and shows what a huge difference one person can make. 10 out of 10 st

[Dilip · 10/10 · 14 April 2004]

Today I saw "Born into Brothels" at day 3 of 4 of the Full Frame Documentary Film Festival. Even with another day left, I have some confidence that this will be the film I most appreciated seeing at this festival, and in fact is one of the most inspiring films I have seen in a long time. Directors and producers Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman also hosted a question and answer session after the film, and I had the privilege of meeting and talking with Zana Briski, whose intimate involvement in this film and her selfless efforts have given me tremendous admiration for what she does; as I said in the Q&A period, if we had a few more people like her, the world would be a vastly better place for all of us.

Ms. Briski is an established photographer and now first time director who began in 1997 to explore the lives of sex workers in Calcutta's red-light district, Sonagachi, where over 7000 women and (disgustingly sadly) girls are prostitutes. In order to better understand them, Zana lived for months at a time with them, and the children quickly befriended her. The children were curious to try their hands at taking pictures, and Zana helped to empower them and see the world through their eyes by teaching them photography and acquiring point-and-shoot 35mm film cameras for them, as well as helping them to critique and edit their pictures.

The resulting pictures that the children took between the years 2000 and 2003 are striking. Some of the children clearly have innate talent in composition and artistry (see, for example, shot 17 "Girl on a Roof" or 14 "Horse", at the Kids with Cameras site mentioned at the bottom of my review), and all of them have works portraying the vitality of life so much so that Zana helped get one child invited to be part of a children's jury at a World Press Photo Foundation photo exhibit in Amsterdam in 2002, and for him to actually attend.

Zana admits in the film that she is not a social worker, but wanted very much to help the boys and girls, for otherwise their future was a dismal one lacking hope beyond prostitution, drugs, pimping, and crime. She organized a photo exhibit in a Calcutta bookstore, garnering Zana's project and the individual children television and newspaper coverage. Zana has recently set up an organization, Kids with Cameras, that sells their prints to raise money for them, with 100% of the profits going to them. Twelve of these prints were the ones chosen for the 2003 "Amnesty International" calendar, and she even exhibited and auctioned the children's work at Sotheby's. She has helped to get several of the children into good boarding schools and recently helped a few to get email access and English lessons.

The film itself is technically beautiful, with a melange of colors, sounds, and activity, centered on the children but also including others. The filmmakers in no way hide the unsavory life in Sonagachi, including disturbing cursing against the children, hopelessness of being able to in any way be involved in normal society, having no governmental support, facing tremendous bureaucracy to get anything changed even with Ms. Briski's help, and the total lack of police investigation or protection as painfully brought to light when one child's mother is killed by a pimp in a "kitchen fire". In making the film, Mr. Kauffman and Ms. Briski effectively used fast camera pans, red overtints, and grainy film at times to portray an environment where participants would not want to be carefully filmed. They could have made this a sad and detailed documentary about this red light slum, but instead chose to recognize its nature but focus on the innocence of the children and hope that could be offered them.

If you have the opportunity to see this film at a festival, don't miss it. I understand that HBO/Cinemax may be distributing the film as well to afford a much wider audience. It is a heartwarming film that left me with a jumble of emotions - hopefulness and hopelessness; incredulity and shock at human nature combined with tremendous admiration at the selflessness and difference that one person can make; sadness at the overwhelming poverty, filth, and insouciance of a society that lets a community like Songagachi exist and yet tremendous happiness at the children's glee in living their lives with innocent play and their ambition to move out of the community. For the quality and uniqueness of the film, as well as the tremendous service that Zana Briski portrays, this film gets 10 stars out of 10 in my book. Don't miss this jewel of a film - and consider supporting the work that goes on.

--Dilip Barman April 3, 2004

Sorry to say i was disappointed

[bubsy-3 · 7/10 · 3 April 2005]

I was really looking forward to seeing Born Into Brothels. However, after seeing it, I must say that I was disappointed. It's a good movie, but in my opinion certainly not worthy of the "Best Documentary" Oscar (that, I think, should have gone to Tupac Resurrection and I think the Best Picture Oscar should have gone to Hotel Rwanda which wasn't even nominated!) Documentaries, in my opinion, need to capture their audience in the first couple of minutes. They should be like essays, with an opening statement showing what is going to be presented afterward and why. Born Into Brothels doesn't do this. It begins as a messy composition of the comments of several children. The story itself is quite good. But the cinematography is my main complaint. The camera is always either in close up or closer up. It zooms in on the children's faces so that only 2/3 of the face is seen. In street scenes, the camera is jumping all over the place or speeding down the road in a total blur. I never got to really see or understand the environment that these children live in. The sole exception was the beginning of the beach scene. Overall, I found the movie a narcissistic glorification of Zana Briski who attempted to "save" some of these children from their horrible fate. But I never got to really know the children and what they REALLY thought and felt and experienced and I think that's what Zana Briski missed when she set off on her mission. Perhaps that's why the majority of the children don't end up "saved". One of the child photographers who ends up going to a fine school in India at one point in the movie comments about how wonderfully a photo captured feeling. I only wish he were in charge of making the film.

Deeply compelling personal film

[rgwright1 · 10/10 · 23 September 2004]

This is a beautifully conceived and directed film. I knew little about the red light district of Calcutta and certainly nothing of the amazing children whose photographs are not only dramatic but also a tool of empowerment, albeit not entirely successful. One of the best documentaries of 2004. There certainly have been several excellent movies about the misery and hopeless nature of life in red light districts throughout the world, particularly southeast Asia. But this film's decision to focus on the children who not only are born in the brothels, but essentially live their entire lives within this damp and dismal walls. Director/photographer Zana Briski is to commended for bringing this to light. Several of my friends had deep empathy for her frustrating experiences with the Indian bureaucracy as she tries to get the children's art work noticed. Great film.

Problems with Born into Brothels

[khwangbo · 7/10 · 23 March 2005]

I saw BIB last night. I expected to love it, since it had won the Oscar and I am a documentary filmmaker. I thought it was a well-crafted documentary, but there was a surprising "ick" factor to the film for me. First, I was turned off by Zana Briski's personality...the way she was talking to the school officials. She seemed self-conscious in her role as the kids' advocate...she sounded stilted, preachy and thus, ineffective. I also didn't like the way she imposed a solution on the kids, a solution that worked for her but not for them. The photography class sounded like a "cool" thing that she could tell her liberal artsy friends about back in England, but was probably less helpful to the kids than social work, a free lunch program or academic tutoring. Also her solution was for the girls to go to a boarding school "to get them away from all this." I thought that showed a lack of understanding about the situation the girls were in. How could they succeed in a boarding school when they probably weren't academically ready? How could they succeed without emotional support, separated from their families? How could their mothers be expected to accept being separated from their daughters? It bothered me the way that the school officials kept telling Avyjit, the brightest and most talented boy, that he would have to work hard and improve his grades. No wonder Avyjit was turned off. How is he supposed to improve his grades when he hasn't had enough structure in his life to develop good study habits? The whole photography project smacked of some well-intended idea by some liberals who thought, "wouldn't it be cool if we gave cameras to a bunch of street urchins and they came up with cool photos? We could do an art show and other do-gooders would think we were cool!" I'm sure Zana Briski intended to help the children and she did help a few, but why did she set out to help so few to begin with? I keep trying to say nice things about the film and end up criticizing it again. It seemed almost like a reality show...pick seven street urchins and shower them with amazing opportunities. Pour tons and tons of resources into a few kids, then make a film about it. Despite dangling the opportunities in the kids faces, more than half of them did not see their lives improve. It was a well-crafted film which educated many people about the plight of these children. I just hope that other people who know more about social work than these filmmakers do, will be able to really help these children. Maybe I will since I have seen this movie.

Fabulous Film

[tgc00000 · 10/10 · 5 April 2004]

We saw this film at the Cleveland International Film Festival and it was one of the absolute best of the 85 films at the festival.

This film is a documentary, made by a photographer, Zara Briski, who lived in the brothels of Calcutta and befriended the children of the women of the brothels.

In the film, Zara teaches the children photography by giving them each a point-and-shoot cameras and the children, between ages 10-12, compose and shoot some amazing photographs.

Zara tries to raise money to get the children into private schools and get them out of the brothels where the are destined to follow the path of their parents as prostitutes or drug dealers.

This is an amazingly rich documentary like none you have ever seen. It touches the lives of these children so personally, and is shot so intimately, that you feel like you are right there with them.

I commend the film-makers for completing this moving and important piece of work.

Talent can lift kids out of despair...sometimes

[redemp · 10 March 2005]

Lots of films have depicted how childhood for many kids isn't exactly a warm, fuzzy experience. American photographer Zana Briskie moved into the red light district of Calcutta to study the lives of the prostitutes who live and work there. In the process, she became involved with the children of the prostitutes, literally BORN INTO BROTHELS. Even the grandmothers of some of these children were or still are prostitutes. There is a presumption that, at puberty, the little girls will follow in their mothers' footsteps and "join the line" and that the little boys will either pimp or sell drugs. This is not Walton's Mountain or the land of Ozzie and Harriet.

But then Briskie was inspired to give these kids cameras so they could photograph the world around them. We get to know eight or nine of them, their personalities, families, and homes, and most importantly their art. Some of the kids are serious beyond their years, others more playful. Some of the parents are supportive, others suspicious. One little girl is of Brahmin caste and lives well. Another must scrub the pots and pans of other prostitutes. All the photography is interesting, but the work of one little boy is clearly so good that he is invited to an international showing in Amsterdam.

It is clear that Briskie's intervention will be a stepping-stone out of the brothel for some of the kids, but not most. Patterns are hard to break. Is this encouraging or discouraging? Is the glass half-full or half-empty?

Camera Obscura

[southdavid · 7/10 · 3 January 2020]

Desperate and cynical as I am, I really want the virtual badge for rating all the Oscar Winners from 2005, but I didn't want to cheat. I wanted to actually watch the films and write a proper review, not just chuck on a random score. So, having hoped for it to appear on TV somewhere, so I wouldn't have to pay, I eventually relented at rented the film on Amazon Prime.

The documentary is not the traditional dispassionate look at the plight of these children. Instead the filmmakers (Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman) actively try to enrich the lives of these children by holding classes in photography and handing out camera's to let them capture their world. This evolves to actively finding the kids schooling and traversing the complex Indian administrative system. Only to then have so much of their progress undone by, amongst other aspects, the children's parents.

The documentary (if that even is a fair title, given how involved the producers are) is both uplifting and disheartening. It's thrilling to see these kids show an active interest in photography and to borrow camera's and capture some truly impressive and award winning images. You then see the amount of work that Zana has to do to get the kids enrolled at schools that traditionally wouldn't accept them, as they are children of prostitutes. She then gets the places only to have the children either not attend, or their parents withdraw them. All this takes place in such a place of unbelievable poverty that is scarcely believable that it's the 20th century there and what's truly depressing is how resigned to their fates some of the children are.

That said, it feels like "fiddling whilst Rome burns" to spend your time teaching these kids photography whilst they live in such squalid conditions. It's seems like, if you're actively trying to help, securing money to move families away, or establishing your own school, would be more useful (not that I don't appreciate that individual expression via art is a valid aspect of life).

An excellent idea.

[giomanombre · 10/10 · 26 September 2005]

There needs to be more uplifting movies like this one. Truly inspirational and enlightening. People have questioned the motives of the director or author - but all I can say is I don't even care if she did it all for the money. If she did, then capitalism is working here. Those who are complaining probably aren't doing anything to help those kids.

With the proliferation of internet porn and sex tourism, it is good thing for people to see a documentary such as this. It is just good material to put into people's heads compared to the nasty stuff that is out there. To me it shows that even in the depths of human degradation and despair there could be hope in a corrupt world. That one person, if they could change a few lives for the better, for whatever motivation, it is a good thing and should be an inspiration for us all.

Even in these worst human conditions these beautiful kids just shine out full of hope and potential. If you want to see a true-life story documentary where lives are changed for the better, than watch this one.

Overpopulation, irresponsable behavior and no future, a vicious circle for many of them.

[deloudelouvain · 7/10 · 30 January 2021]

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids is a documentary that won't leave anybody indifferent. It's the kind of documentary you watch and that make you stop whining about futile things, like we tend to do all the time if something is not to are liking or going our way. Those images of kids that have absolutely no future and that because of their parents (if you can call them like that) denying them any hope in a better life. Their path is written down long before they're even born. Sometimes with a lot of luck they cross their path with someone like Zana Briski that does her best trying to save a couple of them. The documentary is not of high quality cinematography but that's not really an issue. The photographs are poignant and speak a thousand words. It's not a documenatry that will make you happy, it's the raw reality of how some kids are still forced to live in some parts of the world. India is overpopulated and it will only get worse, certainly with that kind of irresponsable behavior of people making kids while they can't even take care of themselves properly.

A total disregard for local support systems

[hemal_triv · 3/10 · 27 October 2006]

I was born and raised in India and when I heard of Born into Brothels I was very curious to know what the film was all about. And my biggest criticism of the film is the film's gross misrepresentation of the situations and complete disregard for the local support systems.

There are a lot of local NGOs in Sonagachi and other red light areas in Kolkota who work for the betterment of living conditions there. They have been there for years and have done real grassroots work in India. Work which often goes unnoticed by the western media!

In fact Zana Briski received a lot of help from local NGOs. Local NGOs helped her with access, with the system and with some simple day to day jobs. But in her film she did not acknowledge a single local NGO. She portrayed herself as a Messiah on a mission to eradicate misery and hopelessness from these kids' lives. Her portrayal was absolute and self-propagandizing, not to mention contrived and cheesy. In her film she completely disregarded the social welfare system, although fractured but functioning, already in place.

Yes, the kids living Sonagachi don't have many opportunities, don't have a bright future and don't have the best living circumstances. But their lives are not as dark and hopeless as portrayed in the film. There are helping hands and there are people dedicated to the betterment of the living conditions. Indian government supports a lot of these local NGOs, India has free public education and health-care system. In Kolkota itself there are about 3000 registered NGOs supported both by Indian government and private funds. Yes there are rots in the system, but tell me one system that is really perfect.

But why would Zana Briski and Ross Kaufmann acknowledge these local efforts? They are filmmakers, they want drama, they want sensation. They want that classic underdog story. They want the story which the Western media would love, adore and accolade. They are not there to help the kids, but are there to help themselves.

Yes the film is beautifully made, but it is not really a documentary. It is not a fair and objective representation of the reality, which in mind ideally a documentary should be. But rather it is self-serving, westernized, and highly prejudiced manipulation of the reality.

See See See

[futures-1 · 4 September 2007]

"Born into Brothels" is a documentary look at a young American woman who decided to try and help a few very poor children who were growing up in the brothels of India. She used photography as the means to bond, communicate, and teach. Each child was given a camera. THEY were encouraged to document and express much about their lives. It's not a pretty sight. Glimmers of hope are few and far between, which makes the glimmers even more precious. This is not a film for young children unused to how life IS on much of Earth. Should you EVER feel your life is "rough", please, rent this film. Should you know your life could be MUCH worse – and you need to feel more grateful – rent it. Should you want to scoop up a bunch of children and spirit them away from their circumstances, rent this film as encouragement.

Shocking

[gavin6942 · 6/10 · 17 June 2015]

Two documentary filmmakers chronicle their time in Sonagchi, Calcutta and the relationships they developed with children of prostitutes who work the city's notorious red light district.

While this is not necessarily the best documentary I have ever seen, or even on a subject I particularly care about, I must say it is a shocking subject matter that few are aware of. Prostitution has its supporters and detractors, but the conditions in Calcutta are awful and it is no place for children to be growing up if their mothers are prostitutes.

This is everything that is wrong with prostitution. Maybe if done right, in Nevada or the Netherlands, it is a necessary evil. But in India it appears to just be an evil, no necessity about it.

The difference of One

[ferguson-6 · 8/10 · 26 February 2005]

Greetings again from the darkness. Rarely does a documentary attract much of an audience ... that is unless it is one of the slanted visions of Michael Moore. Realizing not many will see "Brothels" leaves me feeling both saddened and anxious. What a remarkable story that Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman have brought to our world. The kids will capture your heart within the first few moments of the film. Although the story is definitely the kids, the hero is Ms. Briski. Her tireless efforts to give them hope and a way out should be enough motivation for each of us to realize we can make a difference in the world. This film pulls no punches in showing us the underbelly of one of Calcutta's red light districts and how it so impacts these families. The girls are resigned to the fact that it is their future. The boys are helpless to save their friends. Enter Ms. Briski with cameras in tow. You will feel so energized watching the children explore and capture their world through a lens. The photos are nothing short of stunning and were a hit at the World Festival a couple of years ago. Although not successful in saving them all, Ms. Briski did make a difference and provides a guiding light to us all.

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

[jboothmillard · 6/10 · 9 May 2018]

I was always curious to see the documentary film that beat Super Size Me during Awards Season, I read more about this Indian-American film, and it did sound like something that could be either fascinating or uncomfortable and shocking viewing, either way I was interested to watch it. Basically it is about the children of prostitutes in Sonagachi, India's largest red light district, in Kolkata, aka Calcutta, the capital of West Bengal. Documentary photographer Zana Briski went to Calcutta to photograph the prostitutes, while there she befriended the children and offered to teach them photography. The children were given cameras, so they could learn photography and perhaps improve their lives, their photographs depicted the harsh daily lives for children in the red light district. The children's work was exhibited, with one boy sent to a photography conference in Amsterdam, and Briski also recorded their efforts to get into boarding schools. However, many did not stay in the schools they were placed in, for various reasons, with the exceptions of Avijit and Kochi, who went on with their education, and were graded well. It is obviously poignant, to see an underworld life in a child's eyes, especially for ones born into brothels, and especially their photographs depicting the streets and people around them. To be honest, I found the elderly woman using highly offensive language towards the children, to do their chores, more disturbing, the children are vibrant characters, they may be living in difficult situations, but they embark on transformational journeys, overall it is an interesting documentary. It won the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature. Good!

Documentary at its best

[ncbrian · 9/10 · 23 March 2005]

I often disagree with the academy award nominations. It's usually too political to nominate the best movies and performances of the year. Born Into Brothels is an exception, it was nominated and won! The only mistake was not nominating it for best picture.

Brothels is the story of a woman, Zana Briski, who traveled to Calcutta to photograph the brothels. She fell in love with the children and began teaching them photography. The movie is seen through their eyes.

The result is extraordinary in so many ways. Calcutta's red light district is interesting in and of itself. The setting is the first extraordinary feature. The filming makes you feel like you are there. Director Ross Kauffman captures the feeling of being trapped in dark allies with a dark future. Without a director commentary running though the film, you're able to see it all by the way it's been directed. The dark past and future of these families is presented in a beautiful and horrific way.

Secondly, the children are lovable. The story focuses on 8 or 9 children of prostitutes. Each one is unique. Some are incredibly funny, others serious, some are troubled, and at least one has an undeniable talent for photography. You'll leave the theater feeling like you know them.

This is documentary film at its best. It transports us to another country and makes us love the troubled children. What was troubling to me was having to leave the theater never to see these troubled children again. Putting aside the incredible movie-making abilities of these creators, Zana Briski is a true hero.

"I know what she does for work and I feel bad talking about these things."

[classicsoncall · 7/10 · 31 October 2017]

There's a reason I read a handful of positive and negative reviews for each film I watch before I post my own. This one draws severe criticism from more than a handful of reviewers who totally castigate the filmmakers and virtually everything about it - the editing, the choice of location, even the motives of the principals. Many of them, and not surprisingly in this age of 'white guilt', attempt to shame the principals for self aggrandizement while citing their vaunted position as members of an elite minority class.

By merely watching this documentary, none of those thoughts ever entered my head. Can it be such a bad thing that Zana Briski took a handful of underprivileged kids under her wing and attempted to show them there was an outlet for their creativity, and perhaps a way out of their situation? Most of these children felt resigned to taking up the same life as their parents, while realizing that it was an immeasurably bad one. When 'Zana Auntie' asked the young girl Suchitra "Do you see any solution to all this?", the answer was a resounding "No". One of the boys in the film gave a starker reply later on - "There is nothing called 'hope' in my future".

With all that, it was so disheartening to learn at the end of the film that most of the kids featured returned in some measure to their prior life. Manik's father - didn't allow him to go to school. Puja's mother - withdrew her from the Sabena School. Shanti left on her own. Gour went back to live at home and wanted to attend the University. Tapasi ran away from home to attend a girl's school. Suchitra's aunt wouldn't let her leave the brothel. Only Kochi remained at Sabena.

All you critics, ask yourself - "Where are these kids now?"

A sad story

[igornveiga · 8/10 · 28 April 2019]

A great documentary, which reveals a sad Indian reality, it makes us think about human rights, especially children. The documentary carries shocking phrases especially because they are spoken by children. At last a great movie even being a sad story.

Captures hope and compassion in a shady part of humanity most probably unaccustomed to such things.

[ierenz · 7/10 · 22 September 2019]

By the title, you might expect a movie exploring young prostitutes ' social and psychological conditions (adolescent, etc.). But that's not the documentary's thrust. Instead, while documenting Indian females, photographer Zana Briski starts to become emotionally attached to the kids of her topics living in Calcutta's red light district.The kids (10-14 years of age) are actually the topics in this film.Sons and daughters of prositutes, though, mostly living in poverty, ridicule, scorn, this documentary depicts a kid spirit that is still shimmering with some resilience. For them, Zana organizes a photography class, arming them with a short camera each.They're wandering away, shooting the world they understand: a little brother crying, family lounging, dirty dishes, a street person, a wall of textured stuff.

Throughout the manufacturing, the filmmakers weave these pictures shot by the children artfully, tactfully and movingly. In fact, the pictures are not merely supplementary material- they become the story's cornerstone.Ultimately, Zana becomes so attached that she seeks to enroll a lot of children in appropriate boarding schools to save them from their almost definitely dark future.

This image is one of hope and empathy in an unusually shady aspect of mankind. More than once it choked me.

Art is the Common Denominator

[gradyharp · 10/10 · 2 November 2005]

BORN INTO BROTHELS won the Academy Award for documentaries: it should have also won the Humanitarian Award. Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman have not only created a captivating film about the plight and survival instincts of a group of eight children who were born to prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta: they have given us a visual montage of the images captured by these children, through the cameras as lovingly instructed by Briski, that look back at the environment in which they are living.

Without being the least bit preachy, Briski and Kauffman entered the infamous red light district, moved in so as not to seem voyeurs, and while Briski continued her long and successful portfolio of the women who ply their wares as the only means to overcome poverty, they discovered that the children of the prostitutes were curious, bright, and desirous of learning the magic the camera can produce. We meet each of the eight children (three boys and five girls), learn the background and outlook of each and then watch as they embrace photography. Their photographs are so fine and their futures so grim that Briski and Kauffman pledge themselves to find paths of escape from their doomed state. Briski works to place them in boarding schools and enters their photographs in an international Press Group exhibition in Amsterdam. The children have such pride and personal growth that they are thrilled when on boy is selected to represent them at the exhibition in Amsterdam. Briski also arranges for exhibitions of the photographs, both internationally and locally so that all of the children can view their art in a respected place. Yet after elevating the future outlook of these eight children we see that only a few continue to have bright futures: the shame of their social caste and the mark of their 'criminal' parents is stamped on them forever. Some escape, others join the line.

The photography is splendid, rich in color and subject matter, and the video camera following Briski through the squalid red light district, pausing to hear abusive mothers and drugged fathers deny their children passage into a better life, hearing the wisdom of the elders who desire something more for these children, captures a world few know. Devoted as Briski and Kauffman are to their dream, they remain realistic and document an element of life in a third world country that is illuminating.

This is a touching film without being maudlin, beautiful without ignoring reality. In English and with subtitles for the children's commentary. Highly Recommended for all viewers. Grady Harp

These Mean Streets

[Prince-P · 6/10 · 23 May 2022]

While working on a film about prostitutes in Calcutta, Zana Briski noticed that many of the women had children who also lived in the brothels. To prevent them from following in their mothers' footsteps, Briski gave the kids cameras, urging them to document their life in the Red Light District.

The project resulted in the documentary "Born into Brothels". While it's depressing to see the horrific conditions people are forced to live in, it's also a hopeful tale of children. Young girls and boys, who for the first time are given a chance to break free from a life of coercion and oppression.

A final note: since the film premiered, Zana Briski has started a non-profit organization called "Kids with Cameras". The idea is to initiate similar projects in other countries around the world.

Less a documentary than a vanity project

[Andela · 3/10 · 8 August 2005]

I commend Zana Briski for wanting to help these children. I believe she was moved by what she saw and did the best she could with the tools available to her. As she said herself, she is neither social worker nor teacher. She is not a native speaker of the language nor member of the culture. As such she brings her own values and assumptions to the table when trying to help the children, but I don't think that's something to criticize her for.

However the movie she made documenting her attempt to help these children was not effective as a documentary. We never get much of a feel for the kids, and only a cursory glimpse into what their lives are truly like. We see a few scenes of a woman verbally abusing a child but it's not clear why she's yelling. We're told rather than shown that their world is unpleasant, but from what we see on screen it doesn't seem all that bad. The children are almost always laughing and happy. Their parents seem to love them. Occasionally we see one scrubbing out a pot or getting a spanking. I would've loved to know more about these kids, their families and their lives, but what we mostly see are Briski's efforts to get them an education, which are commendable but place this film in the category of a feel-good (for Briski) vanity project rather than a work that truly shows us what the children's lives are like. Briski misses the mark by focusing on the two least interesting parts of the story, herself and the photography lessons, and relegating the most fascinating, the kids and their environment, to a relative sidebar.

The most telling scene in the film was when Briski learns that Ayvajit's mother has been burned to death by her pimp. The opportunities here for a visceral emotional punch are astounding, but what we get are a few seconds of Briski shaking her head and saying, "How sad." This sentiment sums up the shallowness of this film. By focusing on Briski and her efforts, we get an intellectual exercise instead of one that grabs us in the guts and makes us feel, as much as we can in our comfortable chairs from half a world away, what it is like to be born into a brothel.