Born into Brothels
Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids | |
---|---|
THINKFilm HBO | |
Release dates | 17 January 2004Sundance) 8 December 2005 | (
Running time | 85 minutes |
Countries | United States India |
Languages | Bengali English |
Box office | $3.5 million (USA) [1] |
Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids is a 2004 Indian-American documentary film about the children of
Plot
Briski, a
Aftermath
There is debate about the extent to which the documentary has improved the lives of the children featured in it.[citation needed]
The filmmakers claim that the lives of children appearing in Born into Brothels have been transformed by money earned through the sale of photos and a book on them. Ross Kauffman, co-director of the documentary, says that the amount earned is $100,000 (about
In November 2006, Kids with Cameras provided an update on many of the children's conditions, asserting that they had entered high schools or universities in India and the United States or found employment outside of prostitution[citation needed]. Kids with Cameras continues to work toward improving the lives of children from the Calcutta red light district with the plan to build a Hope House.[4] Updates for 2010 and 2009 were also published.[5][6]
In 2004, REACT to FILM organized a screening for Born into Brothels at the SoHo House in Manhattan, NY. In 2010, the film's director, Zana Briski, joined the advisory board of REACT to FILM.[7]
Criticisms
The
, India's national magazine, summarized this criticism, remarking:IF Born Into Brothels were remade as an adventure-thriller in the tradition of Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, its posters might read: "New York film-maker Zana Briski sallies forth among the natives to save souls.[9]
Some critics joined the Sonagachi prostitute-advocacy groups in condemning the film for exploitation of the plight of the prostitutes for profit.[9] Other criticisms were raised about "ethical and stylistic" problems, by Partha Banerjee, interpreter between the filmmakers and the children.[10]
Reception
Critical response
Born into Brothels has an approval rating of 95% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 108 reviews, and an average rating of 7.83/10. The website's critical consensus states, "A powerful and uplifting documentary".[11] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 78 out of 100, based on 32 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[12]
Awards
- 2004 Bermuda International Film Festival Audience Choice Award - Briski, Kauffman; Documentary Prize - Briski, Kauffman
- 2004 Cleveland International Film Festival Best Film - Briski, Kauffman[13]
- 2004 Full Frame Documentary Film Festival Audience Award - Briski, Kauffman (tied with Word Wars)[14]
- 2004 International Documentary Association Award for Feature Documentaries - Briski, Kauffman, Geralyn Dreyfous-White, Pamela Boll (tied with Fahrenheit 9/11)
- 2004 Los Angeles Film Critics Association Awards for Best Documentary/Non-Fiction Film - Kauffman, Briski[14]
- 2004 National Board of Review Award for Best Documentary Feature - Zana Briski and Ross Kauffman[14]
- 2004 Seattle International Film Festival Golden Space Needle Award for Best Documentary - Briski, Kauffman[14]
- 2004 Sundance Film Festival Audience Award, Documentary - Kauffman[14]
- 2005 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Briski, Kauffman[10]
- 2005 Raindance Film Festival Closing Night Film
Nominations
- 2005 Directors Guild of America Award for Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Documentary - Briski, Kauffman
- 2005 Golden Satellite Award for Best Motion Picture, Documentary
- 2004 Sundance Film Festival Grand Jury Prize, Documentary - Kauffman, Briski
- 2013 Calcutta Film Festival (funded by Walt Disney Pictures), Documentary - Spielberg, Steven. Lucas, George. Abrams, J. J.
Preservation
Born into Brothels was preserved and restored by the Academy Film Archive and the UCLA Film & Television Archive in conjunction with the Sundance Institute from a D5, a DigiBeta, a 35mm print and a Magneto Optical Disk. Restoration funding provided by the Sundance Institute and the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. The restoration had its U.S. West Coast premiere at the UCLA Festival of Preservation in 2022.[15]
References
- ^ "Born Into Brothels (2004)". Box Office Mojo. 14 July 2005. Retrieved 12 July 2012.
- ^ "Born into Brothels". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. 2007. Archived from the original on 28 December 2007. Retrieved 23 November 2008.
- ^ "Kids with Cameras". www.hotels-rajasthan.com.
- ^ "Kids with Cameras". www.hotels-rajasthan.com. Archived from the original on 22 September 2008.
- ^ "Update on the Kids of Calcutta". Kids with Cameras. July 2010. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011.
- ^ "Update on the Kids of Calcutta". Kids with Cameras. April 2009. Archived from the original on 23 April 2015.
- ^ "React to Film". Ninunina.com. Archived from the original on 26 April 2012. Retrieved 17 February 2012.
- ^ "Durbar Mahila Samanwaya Committee- Education". durbar.org. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 18 August 2013.
- ^ a b c Swami, Praveen (2005). "A missionary enterprise". www.frontline.in. Archived from the original on 16 June 2014. Retrieved 21 January 2018.
- ^ a b "Kolkata connection at the Oscars". Yahoo! News. 3 March 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2005. Retrieved 18 January 2009.
- ^ "Born Into Brothels". Rotten Tomatoes.
- ^ "Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids". Metacritic.
- ^ "Cleveland awards Born into Brothels". filmfestivals.com. 25 April 2004. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ a b c d e "Born Into Brothels". filmsalescorp.com. Retrieved 13 August 2023.
- ^ "Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids | UCLA Film & Television Archive". cinema.ucla.edu. Retrieved 24 October 2022.
External links
- Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids at IMDb
- Born into Brothels at Rotten Tomatoes
- Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids at AllMovie
- Born into Brothels at Box Office Mojo
- Movie on Kolkata brothels wins Oscar, a report in The Indian Express
- Review of the movie by Roger Ebert
- The official site of pictures taken by kids