January 8, 2007
Life changing.
It’s not a word I use very often about a movie, but Born Into Brothels is one of those movies that you think about long after you’ve seen it.
A woman travels to Calcutta as a professional photographer to capture life in the Red Light district. It’s a harsh reality as whole families — many of the dads addicted to drugs, the moms, grandmothers, and even young girls adopted as part of “the line”, another word for prostitution.
Once the photographer arrived she moved into the district. What captured her attention was the many children running around the district. She became friends with several, and she began to teach them how to capture the life around them through a photo lens.
What resulted was greater than anything she ever thought could happen. These children saw their life and the busy streets and harshness around them with an eye only a child could envision.
One class stretched into nearly two years. Kochi, one of the children forced to work from 
4 a.m. until 11 p.m. every night for her mother, grandmother, and the other women in the brothel area, became a true photographer. Others, like Puchi and Gour, scoured the streets looking for new angles, new photos, new ways to show life in Calcutta.
Three years later a documentary was shown to the world. The photos were launched in art galleries. When their “auntie” went back to the children three years later and told them that the sales of their photos would allow them to do whatever they wish — attend school in America, be a doctor. . . it was almost beyond the comprehension of the students.
This documentary is both beautiful and painful. There is some language (translated in print) that is harsh. A child is beaten before the cameras. But that is only a small part of what these children lived in, and it was real life for them.
Want to expand your horizons? Want to see how one person can literally change the lives of others? Want to see how dreams can turn into reality, no matter what the circumstances? Or how to love someone in ways that are creative and awesome?
This is a great documentary that will make you think, may you cry, make you laugh.
T. Suzanne Eller (Suzie)
Real Teen Faith
SolShine7 says:
This is one of my all-time favorite films!!! It’s touched me in ways no film has before.
Excellent post! You’ve got a really cool blog going on here.
p.s. I found you via BlueBird Blogs.