BORN INTO BROTHELS

The most stigmatized people in Calcutta's red light district are not the prostitutes, but their children who have little hope of escaping their mother's fate. In the Academy Award winning film Born into Brothels viewers witness how these children's lives are transformed when they begin to take photographs of their life in the stark and impoverished brothels. Photography becomes both an emotional outlet and for some, an escape.

Director and professional photographer Zana Briski first began living in Calcutta to document the lives of the local prostitutes, but soon became captivated by the children of the brothels. At once feisty and sensitive, with a remarkable sense of humour, they are resilient in the face of a potentially hopeless future. Providing them with point-and-shoot cameras, Briski gives photography lessons so the children can capture their community on film. The results reveal an underlying artistic talent and the photos give each child a sense of empowerment. Briski is touched by their unfailing capacity for hope and insatiable appetite for learning.

Born Into Brothels chronicles the incredible transformations of children who come to express themselves through the medium of photography. Briski, who spent years with these children, becomes a part of their lives and uses their photography lessons as a means to further their education and to transcend the world of the brothels. This touching and humorous story reveals the power of art and the courage of those willing to change their lives.

Born Into Brothels was produced and directed by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. It won the Academy Award for Best Feature Documentary in 2005, as well as the Audience Choice Award at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004.