This award winning documentary from Zana Briski and Ross Kaufmann won worldwide acclaim in 2004 for its depiction of the often neglected children of Sonagachi, Calcutta's red light district.
Documentarian Zana decided that rather than simply go into the brothels and backstreets and make an observational film, she would get involved, and she decided to do this by teaching some of the many children she met the art of photography, so that they can document their world by themselves.
The film attracted critisism for simplifying the problems of extreme poverty, and was even accused of exploitation (is there such a thing as poverty porn?) but watch it and make up your own mind. Watch it here on googlevideo
The aftermath of the film led to the founding of the Kids with Cameras photography school. Whether or not knowledge of photography will help these kids out of the slums or not remains to be seen but it is certainly a fanstatic insight into their lives. Check out the Kids with Cameras website here to see their photos
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