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March 23, 2005
Kids
With Cameras
If you haven't yet seen Born Into Brothels, you've probably
heard something about this remarkable film: In 1998, award-winning
photographer Zana Briski entered Calcutta's red light district with
the intent of photographing the lives of some of the city's 7,000-plus
prostitutes. But it turned out to be the women's children, many
of them terrorized and abused, who drew her in. She came up with
the idea of giving them inexpensive point-and-shoot 35mm cameras,
and then taught them to photograph their own lives. To Briski's
delight, they produced incredible work.
Sensing that she had a story on her hands -- one that might inspire
hope in communities of marginalized children across the globe --
Briski enlisted her friend, filmmaker Ross Kauffman, to chronicle
her remarkable adventure, and together they created this year's
Oscar winner for Best Documentary Film.
Interest in the film, as well as in the fates of the feisty, wonderful
children it featured, has spawned Kids With Cameras, an organization
that seeks to empower disenfranchised children with the knowledge
and the means to express themselves by capturing and interpreting
their worlds on film. Part of the funds raised by Kids With Cameras
will go to creating a school and safe-haven for the children in
Calcutta, as well as helping similar children growing up in other
such nightmarish environs as the slums of Cairo, Haiti and Jerusalem.
You can participate in the project by purchasing a copy of the book,
Born Into Brothels, which features the photographs taken
by the kids in the documentary, as well as stills from the filming
and examples of Briski's own work. You can also buy the children's
prints -- images that are explosions of color -- that include self-portraits,
family pictures, street scenes and stunning tableaus of Bengali
life.
There is no better way to open your own kids' eyes to the worlds
of those living under vastly different circumstances than to introduce
them to their counterparts in other places. This hopeful and endlessly
creative project allows them that access through the art of photography.
For more information, go to kids-with-cameras.org.
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