Born Into Brothels: Photographs by the Children of Calcutta

by Zana Briski

Book Overview

A powerful story that unfolds in the red-light district of Calcutta: a photographer that becomes a teacher and the extraordinary children she meets who learn to dream with cameras in their hands.... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1884167454
• ISBN13: 9781884167454
• Release Date: July 2005
• Publisher: Umbrage Editions
• Length: 97 Pages
• Weight: 1.45 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.6" x 9.3" x 9.3"

Customer Reviews

Through A Child's Eyes...Powerful PIctures

Born into Brothels shows what can happen when children in desperate circumstances are given the opportunity to talk about their lives by making pictures. The pictures that the young people make provide evidence that a camera in the hands of a child can be an empowering device that provide the voice that they might otherwise not have. A powerful testament to the power of photographs and the power of pictures.

Compelling

After watching the DVD and looking at this book, it has compelled me to take action... It's incredibly moving and very powerful!

A documentary of extraordinary children born into the most wretched of circumstances

Zana Briski came up with a unique idea. Give the children in Calcutta's red-light district their own cameras and let them take pictures of their lives. The result was a documentary of extraordinary children born into the most wretched of circumstances where the girls were destined to enter their mother's trade of prostitution and the boys would join related criminal enterprises. The award-winning film documentary has now produced a unique and extraordinary coffee-table book of photography showcasing Zana Briski's own work in collaboration with these children's photography over a period of seven years. This is also the story of how Briski began holding photography workshops to instruct these children in the basics of photography from lighting and composition to editing and narrative sequencing. Some of these children became so skilled and adept that their developed and developing photography skills could eventually be the source of their emancipation from the lowest rung of Calcutta social and cultural ladder. Highly recommended reading, "Born Into Brothels" would make a stellar addition to academic and community library Photography collections, Indian Studies reference shelves, and Women's Studies supplemental reading lists.

Rich in Color and Atmosphere Despite the Tragedy of the Theme

BORN INTO BROTHELS is a welcome addition to the books on color photography. Granted these shots are extracted from the award winning film, a feature documentary exploring the sad and at times sordid lives of these eight children born to prostitutes in the red light district of Calcutta, India. But what photographer Zana Briski has captured in richly brilliant colors is not focused on tragedy or the smarmy aspect of the places in which these children live. Instead she has found the beauty in the innocence of these children, living in a closed world without much hope of escape - except through the gracious ingenuity of Briski who held classes, teaching these children how to use the camera, offering a transient glimpse of a world they might never know. The children are extraordinarily photogenic, but the dazzling colors of the cloths, jewels, streets, glitter and scents from the spices are palpable. This book stands alone on its merits of color photography: the fact that it holds the message it does makes it incredibly touching and unique. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, August 05

A Powerful, Poignant Companion to the Film

My advanced-placement high-school seniors recently read and discussed George Bernard Shaw's play MRS. WARREN'S PROFESSION, which explores British class structure, the roles open to turn-of-the-last-century women, and the morality of prostitution. Their own strands of thought were largely theoretical; however, after seeing BORN INTO BROTHELS last Friday evening and immediately buying the companion book, this Monday I was able to present some concrete images to my students of the horrors of slum-living and prostitution in Calcutta. The photos here are beautiful, heart-wrenching, intelligent, savvy, and fraught with layers of meaning. It is clear that the lives of these Calcutta youngsters are a far cry from the lives of suburban Americans. One of the functions of literature is the engendering of empathy for those whose experiences are far different from our own. While Shaw's play is insightful, these images from India had an immediate, powerful effect on kids raised more on television and video than on the written word. Ms. Briski is to be commended for her compassionate work and for trying to raise public awareness about the plight of millions of young people across the planet. One can only wish that even more could be done to ease the horrors of the lives of these impoverished youngsters and their families.