Adult ADD Strengths

Just saw the movie Born into Brothels by Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman. Been thinking of watching it for a while since the CBC has kept promoting it and didn’t because I thought it would just be another story of humanity’s greed, selfishness and cruelty. Finally decided to see it. Very glad I did. While it did cover those topics it did much more.

It was a phenomenal movie, very moving, very inspiritional and not contrived. It won an academy award as best documentary. A must see.

Zana Briski, a NY based photojournalist gave camera’s to children born in brothels in the red light district of Calcutta, India, (when I was growing up it was known as the black hole of Calcutta because of the extreme poverty) and taught them how to take pictures and created a movie out of it. To see hope in children abandoned by Indian society, who are living in such extreme poverty and abusive circumstances, i.e., one child’s aunt wanted to pimp her out and another child’s father wanted to do the same, is amazing.

Instead of saying “there’s nothing I can do, people are suffering everywhere, I’m helpless”, Zana decided to turn despair into hope, and created this film and got the children’s photo’s in exhibits to raise money for their schooling.

Their photographs are prisms into their souls, rather than anthropological curiosities or primitive imagery, and a true testimony of the power of the indelible creative spirit.

Here’s one quote from one of the children, Gour

I want to show in pictures how people live in this city. I want to put across the behavior of man.

If you want to make a difference here’s where you can do it.

You can order the DVD here.

Or you can check out their website Kids with Camera’s. They’re doing it in other locations too.

The photographs taken by the children in Born into Brothels are available for purchase in the Kids’ Gallery , and as a signed limited-edition portfolio, or as a compilation in our companion book . 100% of proceeds from print sales go directly to support the children’s education.

Here’s their mission.

Kids with Cameras is a non-profit organization that teaches the art of photography to marginalized children in communities around the world. We use photography to capture the imaginations of children, to empower them, building confidence, self-esteem and hope. We share their vision and voices with the world through exhibitions, books, websites and film. We are committed to furthering their general education beyond photography either by linking with local organizations to provide scholarships or by developing our own schools with a focus on leadership and the arts.

Instead of being a media vulture, Zana’s a media angel. What would the world be like with more people like her?