Born into Brothels Film

Last weekend I watched the very emotionally moving film Born into Brothels directed and written by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. The documentary takes the viewer into territory unknown to most Americans; into the red light district of Calcutta and into the lives of the children of the prostitutes who live there.

How the children live is shocking and unbelievable. The children are surrounded by their mother’s “work” and the young girls are expected to shortly “join the line” of work themselves. The children of the brothels wake up at very early hours of the morning to help with chores, are let loose in the streets, and surrounded by cussing and anger.

Although the movie is very sad and sobering, there are happy and hopeful moments as well. The director gives all of the children cameras and teaches them how to take pictures and develop them. The children’s artwork is then put up for sale in order to raise money to get them out of the brothels and into a good boarding school.

There were about seven children involved in the documentary, and only about half of them even made it to the boarding school, and of the ones who made it to boarding school only a few stayed. The ones who left did so either by their own will, or their parents’ will.

I felt this documentary was very sad; however I think that it is very important that these documentaries exist and that people watch them. Without this documentary I would have no idea today what the red light district of Calcutta was, let alone an idea of what it may be like for children there. The documentary and pictures taken by the children allow the children who would have never had a voice to speak out through their pictures. The photographs taken by the children help to bring viewers into their world, making viewers more aware. Awareness is what can save the lives of the children of the brothels in Calcutta.