Born into Brothels

Born into Brothels, by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman, is the winner of the 77th annual Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature. It chronicles the transformation of the most stigmatized people in Calcutta’s red light district—not the prostitutes, but their children. In the face of poverty, abuse, and despair, these children have little possibility of escaping their mothers’ fate or for creating another type of life.

Briski, a professional photographer, gives the children cameras and lessons, igniting sparks of artistic vision and hopes for a better future. The children’s photographs 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.

Devoid of sentimentality, Born into Brothels defies the typical tear-stained tourist snapshot of the global underbelly. Briski spends years with these children and becomes part of their lives. Their photographs are prisms into their souls, rather than anthropological curiosities, and a testimony to the power of the creative spirit.

In addition to producing Born into Brothels with Kauffman, in 2002 Briski created Kids with Cameras, a non-profit organization to empower marginalized children through learning the art of photography. Workshops are currently offered in Calcutta, Cairo, Haiti, and Jerusalem. The photographs produced by the children featured in Born into Brothels have been auctioned at Sotheby’s and presented in Amnesty International’s 2003 calendar. Their photographs and a Born into Brothels companion book are also available for purchase at www.kids-with-cameras.org. 100% of proceeds from print sales go directly to support the children’s education.

—Sherry Schwarz