Friday, May 22, 2009

.kids with cameras.


As I mentioned in the previous post, I wanted to return with an entry about a documentary film I recently viewed.  Born Into Brothels, an award winning film by Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski, documents the photographic experience of eight children living in the red-light district of Calcutta, India.  Under the tutelage of Briski these resilient youngsters find themselves behind the camera lens, documenting their own lives, their own environments, and in some cases, their destiny.  

Zana Briski, a photographer based out of New York City, originally came to the red-light district to capture the lives of the prostitutes living in these brothels.  During her time there, she became a friend, an "Auntie" and eventually an advocate for some of the children of the very women she came to observe.  Their curiosity about photography is what inspired Briski to form a class, teaching these children to see their surroundings through that of the camera's viewfinder.  Using 35mm point-and-shoot cameras, the children were able to embark on a journey behind the lens, recording bits and pieces of their lives.  It is from these images that money has been raised to help provide them with an education, in hopes of living a better life from whence they came.  After filming this project, Zana Briski created Kids With Cameras, a non-profit organization whose mission is to help teach children, from ostracized communities around the world, to embrace art and self-worth through photography.  This is a film that I absolutely adore.  For many reasons, I recommend you to watch this film.  Preview the trailer below.


6 comments:

  1. I will check it out - I absolutely loved Slumdogs so, this being true will be great too

    ReplyDelete
  2. Watched this one...inspiring + sob-sob! Thank goodness for waterproof mascara or else I would have looked like a panda bear! ~Lovely weekend!! XO*

    ReplyDelete
  3. I'll keep my eye out for this if it makes it over here. Just from the description alone, I bet that it's waaay better than Angels & Demons!

    ReplyDelete
  4. Yes ladies, if you haven't
    already seen it, then you
    need to try to get a copy
    of it.

    Rowena, I think this film
    actually came out in 2004
    so you may want to check
    out a video store in your
    town to see if they have
    it. Bummer about Angels
    and Demons!

    ReplyDelete
  5. wow! thanks for the details, Kat! I will def try and check this out.

    ReplyDelete

Just so you know. . . you've already brightened my day!