SightPhoto Blog

Like me, you probably hadn't heard of the film "Born Into Brothels" before last night, when it won the Oscar for best documentary. I can't say it was on my list of must-sees even after the award, because the topic on the surface sounded depressing. But then I heard a Nation Public Radio report which made the film seem much more appealing. It turns out that the subject of the film is Zana Briski's project in which she worked with these outcast children of prostitutes from Calcutta, teaching them to photograph their own lives. While the concept isn't new, what is particularly admirable is how Briski is leveraging this project for all it is worth, through a book, print sales and the film, in order to raise as much awareness and money as possible to help alleviate the plight of the children. But the ambitions of the Kids with Cameras organization don't stop there: similar projects are scheduled for Haiti, Cairo and Jerusalem. Check it out and help support this admirable project.