1 / 8
RUNTIME
Did you know
85 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
MoodPlayr · trivia#01
Born into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids
2004 1h 25m EN
👍
6.8
SOLID
🔥
95%
CERTIFIED FRESH
👌
78
METACRITIC
⭐
7.2
IMDB
★6.8TMDB · 255🍅95%Rotten Tomatoes●78Metacritic★7.2IMDB · 18,749
Documentary
Synopsis
Spoiler shield
Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.
“Some stories are better left unspoiled.”
Cast
Zana Briski
Self
Avijit
Self
Geeta Masi
Self
Kochi
Self
Mamuni
Self
Credits
Behind the camera
- Director
- Zana Briski
- Writers
- Zana Briski, Ross Kauffman
- Languages
- Bengali, English
- Countries
- United States of America, India
Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.
Did you know?
Fun facts 🍿
2 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
MoodPlayr · trivia#02
3 / 8
MONEY
Did you know
Grossed $4M — a 10.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
MoodPlayr · trivia#03
4 / 8
ERA
Did you know
Released 22 years ago.
MoodPlayr · trivia#04
5 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Bengali, English.
MoodPlayr · trivia#05
6 / 8
WORLD
Did you know
International production across 2 countries: United States of America, India.
MoodPlayr · trivia#06
7 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
MoodPlayr · trivia#07
8 / 8
CAST
Did you know
Zana Briski and Avijit and Geeta Masi carry the top of the cast.
MoodPlayr · trivia#08
Cinephile deep dive
The take
Zana Briski directs. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Made its budget back several times over at the box office. Produced in United States of America, India. Dialogue in Bengali, English.
Trivia
Things worth knowing
- 185 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
- 2Shot for just $0.3M — micro-budget by Hollywood standards.
- 3Grossed $4M — a 10.1× return. The kind of profit studios chase for a decade.
- 4Released 22 years ago.
- 5Dialogue crosses 2 languages: Bengali, English.
- 6International production across 2 countries: United States of America, India.
- 7Lean credit list — fewer than 30 people officially credited.
- 8Zana Briski and Avijit and Geeta Masi carry the top of the cast.
- 9IMDB entry: tt0388789 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
- 10Classified under 13 themes, including "prostitute", "human trafficking", "red-light district", "young prostitute".
- 11Released under 10 different titles around the world.
The technical file
- Runtime
- 85 min · 1h 25m
- Status
- Released
- Budget
- $350,000
- Box office
- $3,529,201
- Return
- 1008% of budget
- Original language
- EN
- Certification (US)
- R
- Rotten Tomatoes
- 95% 🍅 Fresh
- Metacritic
- 78/100
- IMDB rating
- 7.2/10 · 18,749 votes
- MPAA
- R
Awards
Won 1 Oscar. 21 wins & 5 nominations total
- Sundance Audience Award: U.S. Documentary
- Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature Film
Individual records documented via Wikidata; the summary above may count more.
Trailers & featurettes
Watch the pieces
Production companies
Who made it
- RE
Red Light Films
US
- CR
Creative Visions Productions
Sundance Institute
US
HBO Documentary Films
US
Key crew
- Sound EditorEric Milano
Themes & keywords
What it's about, really
- prostitute
- human trafficking
- red-light district
- young prostitute
- biting
- calcutta
- illegal prostitution
- woman director
- child prostitution
- apathetic
- callous
- cruel
- hopeful
Release history · US
When it landed
- Premiere2004-01-17R· Sundance Film Festival
- Premiere2004-10-08R· Chicago International Film Festival
- Premiere2004-06-10R· Newport International Film Festival
- Theatrical2004-12-08R· New York City
- Theatrical2005-03-11R
Also known as
International titles
- Camera KidsFR
- Bordélyba születve: Vöröslámpás gyerekek KalkuttábanHU
- 未来を写した子どもたちJP
- Przeznaczone do BurdeluPL
- Născuţi în BordeluriRO
- Рожденные в борделяхRU
- Los Niños del Barrio RojoES
- 小小攝影師的異想世界TW
- Kalküta'nın ÇocuklarıTR
- Народжені в борделяхGR
