In Oscar’s sheen: Newport film fest

Elia Powers

Ten months before they received the Oscar for best documentary

feature, filmmakers Ross Kauffman and Zana Briski brought “Born Into

Brothels” to the Newport Beach Film Festival for its West Coast

premiere.

Then, the 83-minute film, one of more than 300 entries in the

spring festival, won a special merit for feature documentary.

“I’m always excited for one of our filmmakers when they are

recognized on a national stage,” said Gregg Schwenk, executive

director of the festival. “We are proud that our festival can be a

springboard. We are starting to feel like we are getting the chance

to introduce people to films of national importance.”

Schwenk said the filmmakers contacted him about showing the motion

picture, which depicts the lives of children living in one of

Calcutta’s red-light districts, at the 10-day event. He said he was

impressed by the film’s subject matter and overall quality, but had

no indication it would be honored at Sunday’s Academy Awards.

“Born Into Brothels” played at more than 30 film festivals across

the country in 2004 and won more than 20 awards, including the

coveted Documentary Audience Award at the Sundance Film Festival.

That award catapulted the film into the spotlight and attracted the

attention of THINKFilm, a New York-based distribution company that

bought the picture last spring.

Schwenk said members of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and

Sciences saw the film at the Newport Beach Film Festival, which also

hosted another Oscar-nominated documentary, “The Story of the Weeping

Camel.”

David Fenkel, THINKFilm’s executive director of marketing, said

debuting Oscar award-winning films gives a film festival a marketing

advantage.

“It brings instant credibility,” Fenkel said. “[A festival] can

build upon the fact that they showed this film early on. There are so

many film festivals in Los Angeles, and it’s hard to set yourself

apart.

“This gives [the festival] something to stand on, when it courts

future filmmakers.”

The 2005 Newport Beach Film Festival runs April 21-30 at theaters throughout the city.

Schwenk said “Born Into Brothels” was one of the more memorable

films at the 2004 event, because of its inspirational theme.

“It was a personal favorite because it was such a moving subject

matter,” he said. “[The filmmakers] sought to create change through

the screening.”

Briski, a New York-based journalist, traveled to Calcutta in 1998,

with the intention of photographing prostitutes and drug dealers in

the red-light district of Sonagachi.

While interviewing residents, she became acquainted with a group

of eight children, ages 10 to 14, who lived in the neighborhood. They

were enthralled by Briski’s cameras, so she gave each child a

point-and-shoot camera and a photography lesson as a gift.

The film takes viewers inside the brothels and focuses on the

children, whose photography skills improve throughout the five years

Briski lived among them.

Schwenk said the film is especially powerful when juxtaposed with

the extravagant Newport Beach lifestyle.

“It hopefully forces us to realize the blessings we have in our

community,” he said. “The film shows that the concept of hope is

never extinguished.”

HBO, which helped produce the documentary, is planning to air the

film on its stations this summer.

Before shooting “Born Into Brothels,” Briski and Kauffman had

never been nominated for an Oscar, a feat that Fenkel said is

noteworthy.

“For a movie like this to go from building a reputation at small

film festivals to winning a major award proves its quality,” he said.

“This is a film about prostitutes and the lives of their children.

Who would ever think that movie would win an Academy Award?”

* ELIA POWERS is the enterprise and general assignment reporter.

He may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or by e-mail at

elia.powers@latimes.com.