Red Light District Of Calcutta, India By Zana Briski

1. What aspects of the movie made you happy? Why?
This documentary was filmed in the Red Light District of Calcutta, India, by the director Zana Briski. Zana became very close to few of the children of prostitutes while staying with them. She introduced these children to basics of photography and provided them each with a camera. These children were able to capture such great moments of life within the district that probably even Zana could not have captured. Zana provided these children with a hope and better life and dared them to dream bigger. She helped them to look at their world with new eyes. I also liked that these kids had a special bond with each other and understood each other’s pain and cared for each other. In spite of their hardships

These young children have to live with daily hardships like doing dishes, getting water, mopping floors, and take care of their younger siblings. They also had to deal with daily physical abuses from their parents or listening to abusive language and were forced to earn money at such a young age. This movie was an eye-opener for me as I never thought about these children. Their mistake is that they are born in brothels and that should not be the reason to discriminate against them. I feel that some parents thought of them as a burden and they abused them mentally and physically. The really sad part is that mother’s in the line of prostitution want their daughters to go in the same

These young children thought it was their destiny to live in poverty and follow their mother’s footsteps. Another non-public health problem I think was well depicted in the movie was how Zana faced the disorganized state of Calcutta’s government bureaucracy in order for her to get ration cards and birth certificates for the children and get a passport for one of her students. She also faced resistance from children’s parents when she tried to enroll them in a boarding school. Parent’s decision influenced how their children reacted. Ms Briski wanted these children to have better lives and pursued educational opportunities for them and wanted to find a boarding school for them. She thought this will ensure that these girls have a better future and will be protected from the violence and degradation of brothels. Finally, Zana was able to get most of the children admission at boarding schools, hoping to keep them out of the brothels. Unfortunately, not all parents agreed for their children leave the brothels, and few of them leave the schools to return to the brothels by the film's end. I will be curious to know what happened to all the kids in the movie and where are they