directed by: Zana Briski; Ross Kauffman
documentary
| Born
into Brothels (India/USA;
85 min.) directed by: Zana Briski; Ross Kauffman documentary |
|
| Diane says: "Too soon, too soon! Janet and I were
not quite ready to relive the overwhelming traffic and highly-developed bureaucracy of India so soon after our visit in December. "Zana Briski is a British photographer who has been living in the brothels
of Calcutta for several years, documenting the people, their lives, and
the neighborhood. She is drawn to the children of the red-light district,
and begins classes to teach them photography. The opening of the film
is a
great montage of slo-mo video and photographs. Then we meet the kids,
watch them in class, at home, and taking pictures, and see some of their "The second half of the film is more of a narrative covering Briski's
frustrating attempts to get eight of the kids out of the brothels
and into boarding school. Here the film sags. With Briski's project
(www.kids-with-cameras.org) still growing, the film (directed by Briski
and Ross Kauffman) ultimately comes across as a fundraising tool. 3 cats. |
| Beth Caldwell says: "This is one of my favorite
documentary films. The director/producer duo, Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman
have done a superb job with this film - not only because they created
a good, creative, enjoyable& educational film, but also because
they provided the world with a rare view of the daily life of children
living in brothels. We may have thought about the conditions under
which people are forced to live when they are sex workers in poor
developing nations, but we seldom get the chance to learn about the
reality of their lives.
"I especially liked this documentary because we got to know the individual
personalities of each child, and we viewed several of the difficulties
they were presently experiencing, without having to put up with
a heavy-handed, moralistic, activist voice. I appreciated the fact
that the filmmakers were not on a mission to place blame or judgement upon the women working in the brothels or men who were their "The success of this film is partly due to the fact that one of the
photography students emerged with unmistakable genius. I saw the film at
the Cleveland Film Festival (for which it won the audience award) and
had a chance to meet the directors and view the artwork of the children.
The film probably moved us even more when we saw the artwork that
emerged from these classes. I purchased one of Zana Briski's
beautiful black-and-white prints which was featured in the film. [You can
purchase the children's prints online (tax-deductible) at http://www.kids-with-cameras.org/oscar/].
Overall, I think that the movie's strength arose from the fact that this was the first truly |
| Bruce says: "This documentary is unusual on several
levels. First, Zana Briski tells us that it is not the documentary she
had planned. She had wanted to go into the brothels of North Calcutta and
film the woman who work there and their families. The community did not
take kindly to that notion, so Briski and Kauffman switched gears creating
an entirely different film. Selecting seven children (three boys, four
girls) as subjects of the film, 'Zana Auntie' gave each child
a camera accompanied by lessons on how to use it.
"As we watch the children learn about photography, we learn what kind of life they have being raised in brothels. To my surprise most of the mothers are married. Aside from giving new meaning to 'working mothers,' it appears that most of the women are supporting shiftless husbands who spend their days drinking and smoking hashish. The children seem surprisingly normal: one girl is shy, one girl worries she might end up like her mother; one boy is slightly aggressive. Each child learns to use the camera and each child creates an individual portfolio with a unique perspective. Most of the children document their everyday lives. "The most striking thing about BORN INTO BROTHELS is the many colors and textures discovered by the both the cinematographer and the children, as they begin taking their still photos. India is amazingly rich in color and the abundance of color is soothing to the soul. It makes one wonder what is going on in the ever-so-chic black, grey and beige world we live in. "Suddenly the film takes a new twist. Zana Auntie decides that without her help the children will be doomed. In her mind these children can be saved by putting them in boarding schools, less the boys become delinquent and the girls go 'in the line,' meaning they follow in their mothers’ footsteps. Most schools will not entertain the idea of enrolling children of prostitutes. On uncharitable nun says, 'No place is the right place (for these children). Who will take them?' One school accepts the children but only after they are proven HIV negative. "Some of the parents refuse to let their children go to the school after they are admitted. A couple of the kids drop out after they get there. Avijit the boy who is the best photographer ends up representing India in a special exhibition in Amsterdam sponsored by the World Press Photo Foundation. Only one girl stays in the school – she was the one who worried about ending up like her mother. Possibly two children have been saved. "Films about children often seem manipulative and this film is
no exception. I don’t think that the filmmakers acted with malice
but one wonders if they thought things through before making some of
their decisions.
For those who like BORN INTO BROTHELS, I recommend Mira Nair’s
SALAAM
BOMBAY!, a feature film about children who live in the streets
of Bombay. 4 cats" |