Indian documentary gets recognition at Oscars
The Oscars, handed out in distant Hollywood, reverberated in the squalid lanes of Kolkata's biggest brothel as a group of children of prostitutes on Monday celebrated the triumph of a film made on them in the best documentary category.British-born photographer Zana Briski's Born Into Brothels documents the life of eight children of sex workers in Sonagachi brothel and their struggle for upliftment through creativity. Briski began studying the lives of the sex workers of Sonagachi in 1998 but eventually became more interested in the lives of their children. She paved the way for the flowering of the children's creativity by handing basic cameras to the 10 most curious boys and girls and asking them to go out and shoot pictures. The children's struggle, joy and talent with their cameras inspired Briski and American co-director Ross Kauffman to produce a documentary. Alongside, the pictures taken by the children toured the world in exhibitions and raised almost US $100,000 - the money earmarked for their education. "The film has changed our lives. We owe so much to Zana auntie," said Puja, a 14-year-old impish girl who showed journalists a book compiled with their photographs. Puja, who uses only one name, said on Briski's insistence many of her friends and other children had enrolled in schools and were pursuing vocational courses. "I've begun taking computer classes," she said. Briski has helped many boys like Abhijit Das and Manik Das to go to school and think of a life beyond the squalor of the brothels they were born into. "I can speak in English now. Zana auntie sent me to an English medium school," Abhijit Das, 15, said in his halting English. The children said they woke up early last Monday to catch the Oscars live on television. Once their film won the award, sweets were distributed and pleasantries exchanged. Briski also called Puja on her mobile to inquire about them and pass on the news of the Oscars win. However, the umbrella organisation of sex workers in eastern India said it was disappointed the filmmakers had kept them in the dark. "No one told us that a documentary was being made on the lives of the children of sex workers. We are not unhappy about that, but we wish a balanced view was presented. Also, we want collective uplift of the children and not only of a few individuals," said Mrinal Dutta, secretary of the sex workers' group. Compiled by Cultural Correspondent
| 
