Born Into Brothels

wonderwomanusa

That's the title of a new film that I saw this afternoon: an American photogorapher stayed in brothels in Calcutta and, using cheap film cameras, taught a bunch of youngsters to take photos. She also tried to get them out of the red light district and into boarding schools, to change their lives.

There are great shots of the kids visiting the zoo for the first time, and a beach -- you see their universe expand!

Good film; has anyone else seen it?

williaam

Been wanting to see it forever but it has not been released anywhere near me. Did you see it in theatres?

bijapuri

It's coming here to Santa Cruz in a few weeks, and the IM gang here will be in attendance!

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Barack Obama

lookit me!!!: http://www.flickr.com/photos/bijapuri/

Utube fuzzy logic:
http://youtube.com/profile_videos?user=bijapuri&p =r

Merchant

The film is dazzling. Zana Briski, the photographer/filmmaker, is a British-born Canadian.

It's been nominated for just about every award in the world--so most people won't have any trouble seeing it.

wonderwomanusa

Saw it in an "art house" in San Francisco, WilliamS, so maybe it'll play in Minneapolis!

Those children are so beautiful! You will love them. They are also bright and articulate and are very talented photographers.

sudheer poppa

They have a web page and this doc has been nominated for Oscars now

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When my life changed over a week

passingby

I cant wait to see the movie. unfortunatly, I cannot find it anywhere on the internet to watch it and it is not playing here in Montreal. I don't know when it will.
I really think is a wonderfull thing what Zana Briski did. I admire her work.

sudheer poppa

They won the oscars !!!

http://people.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1035069.cms

soulfood

Wow...they beat Super Size Me!

Mandsaur

There's also a little backlash starting to surface. As well-done and life-affirming as the film feels, I personally found it a little self-congratulatory. The whole "white woman comes to save the brown children" aspect of the film is a little hard for me to swallow. What about the NGOs that work tirelessly in Sonagachi to help the women and children there? There's virtually no mention of them.

Now it seems the translator who worked with Briski and Kauffman is protesting the film, saying the kids are worse off than they were before. I find it interesting that this is just now surfacing but it may because the film was shown to the kids and presumably the others involved just last month.

This is a bigger issue of promises that are made to the subjects of documentaries. I can tell you from personal experience that expectations are high when westerners come to India to make a film about people in impoverished environments. The subjects participate because they expect to be helped. I think Ms. Briski has her heart in the right place, and because the film is doing well I think the kids may end up the better for it in the long run.

I do question what would have happened if the film had not done well. If she didn't get the money and support she's received, what would have happened to those kids, with these new hopes placed in their hearts. It may have been a little reckless on Ms. Briski's part, but hopefully the question will remain rhetorical.

For more on the backlash, read this article:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4291331.stm

iyou

I saw it at few weeks ago and thought it was OK, although a bit cliched and obvious perhaps. I don't know how I could have done a better job, however, so I won't condem the poor foreigner for being in the middle of everything (even though as a fellow American I found her voice incredibly grating, as I always do whenever I hear my countrymen speaking in foreign locations--but that's a topic for another day). It wasn't as if she set out to make that film when she first went there, was it?

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passingby

I personally admire her work and I cannot wait to watch the movie.
thinking of all the westerners who'd rather spend their time and money in the west partying and enjoying the comfort life, this woman she actually did something and work on an interseting project trying to help the people in need.
I think if there is any controversy about the movie it's because the movie did well. there is always envy and gossip about successfull people.

Mandsaur

No she went to take pictures of the prostitutes. Then she became enamored with the children and decided to teach them photography. As I said, I think her heart is in the right place and I too admire her ambitions to help. Again, the criticism is less with her work and more with the film and the way it potentially misleads. It's easy to get all wishy-washy watching the film--the kids are adorable and you can't help but feel hopeful for them. But don't you think it would be unfortunate if, given the success of the film, they ended up worse off in the end?

Well, how would you feel if she went to work on an interesting project that in the end did not help the people in need? Again that is what is being charged.

I suppose that's possible but I tend not to assume such petty reactions from people in situations like this. Also I'm not sure how the translator could benefit from trying to sabotage the film at this point. Hopefully we will learn more from both side of the story in the days ahead.

indiadreamn

For those in Ottawa who want to see this film, they're playing at the Bytowne Theater from the 18th to the 24th this March. Check out www.bytowne.ca. This is a link directly to what they'll be playing in the next march

irishman3616

they will probley show it here in 2009we are a bit behind the times in ireland ,it will be on just after they show titanic for the first time