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Calcutta, India. In the notorious red-light district of this overpopulated Indian city, a group of young children play in the streets and disappear down dark corridors and a subterranean staircase known as the "rabbit hole." These are the children of Calcutta's prostitutes, and in all likelihood they are doomed to remain here their entire lives, following in the footsteps of their stigmatized parents. The vast majority of schools in Calcutta don't want these children, who live in conditions of abject poverty and abuse.
In Born into Brothels, directors Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman chronicle the amazing transformation of the children they come to know in the red-light district. Briski, a professional photographer, came here in 1998 to photograph Calcutta's prostitutes, but soon turned her focus on their children. She decided to become a teacher to the children, giving them cameras and lessons in photography that ignited latent sparks of artistic talent and, in a few cases, genius. In turn, the photographs taken by the children - Kochi, Shanti, Avijit, Suchitra, Manik, Gour, Tapasi and Puja - are not merely examples of remarkable observation and talent. They reflect something much larger, morally encouraging, and even politically volatile: art as an immensely liberating and empowering force.
Though the journey of these eight children takes them to new and exciting places - and produces an incredible portfolio of photographs taken by them - it does not necessarily lead them all to a happy end. Several children are derailed in their attempts to go to school by their parents, others are accepted by Future Hope only to leave later, by their own volition or by pressure from their family. A precious few are still enrolled at the school, with hopes of continuing their photography and their education, perhaps even at a university.
CREDITS: Directed and Produced by Ross Kauffman & Zana Briski; Cinematographers: Ross Kauffman & Zana Briski; Editors: Nancy Baker and Ross Kauffman; Music: John McDowell; Executive Producer: Geralyn White Dreyfous; Co-Executive Producer: Pamela Boll.
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