MONEY FOR SOMETHING: Zana Briski's Kids with Cameras organization has raised more than $100,000 for the children of Calcutta's brothels by selling their photographs, some of them pictured above.

Q: How did the kids evolve during the course of knowing them and teaching them photography? Did you see a lot of changes in them?

A: Oh, huge changes. Really huge changes. I mean, Kochi, for example, never opened her mouth in the two years that I knew her before she joined the photography class. She just wouldn’t, couldn’t. She was completely shy and taught to be invisible. And by the end of it, she was taking photos, she was pretty bold on the street, she was in class expressing why she liked a photo or why she didn’t like a photo, and disagreeing with people, and really standing up for her opinion. I think that gave her the courage, in the end, to choose to go to Sabera [Foundation Home for Girls] and stay there.

Q: Did you have different goals and hopes for each kid?

A: I just wanted to get them all to safety, and allow them to follow whatever path they wanted to follow. Which was really heartbreaking for me in some cases, because for example, like Shanti, there’s really not much I can do for her, because she’s been to the home twice and left twice of her own accord. She’s just so troubled. She’s like a prima donna, and there’s nothing I can do for her. That was very hard for me to actually let go. But that’s what I really learned about the whole thing; it’s like I was there to open a door, and for the ones that wanted to step through, that was their choice.

Q: It must have been so disappointing and frustrating after going through so much to get them into these schools, to watch some of them choose to leave.

A: Oh, yeah. It was more the mothers than the kids. But it’s ongoing work, and the next time I go back, I’ll continue that dialogue and continue supporting the mothers. Because I understand their situation. I mean, it’s really hard for them.

Q: What do you hope people will feel when they see this movie?

A: Everything. I mean, that’s the point. I want them to feel. I think I just wanted people to fall in love with the kids the way we fell in love with the kids, and to really open their hearts, and to see them as kids. I mean, they are just kids. I want people to connect, and to change the way they think, too, and feel. Even if that’s being nicer to their own kids, or whatever it is; it doesn’t mean that everybody has to go to Calcutta and save brothel kids.

Q: After people see the film, what do you hope they’ll do?

A: Anything. I want people to tell other people about the film, because I do think it’s a very heart-opening film, and it’s affected so many people. And I had no idea that that was going to happen. But we’ve won like 20 audience awards or something. So people are voting for the film. I’ve had people come up to me after a screening and say they’re going to quit their job or do whatever it is that they’ve always wanted to do but didn’t have the courage to do it. In a way, if people see that one person can follow their heart and make a difference, it’s very inspiring for people. So if people can come away with inspiration, then that’s incredible.

Q: What do you think about Oscar buzz?

A: Oscar buzz? Pretty funny. I mean, God, an Oscar? I didn’t even know I was making a film, let alone ...

Q: Can you imagine yourself walking down the red carpet at the Oscars?

A: Yeah! It would be fun to wear a nice dress.

Q: You already know what you’re wearing, don’t you?

A: No, I don’t. I don’t at all. But it’s kind of fun. I’m so serious all the time, it’s like I haven’t had fun in a while. So I think it would be fun. I think it’s an incredible opportunity to let people know about the film and about the kids, and to actually do a lot of good, and that’s really what I’m focused on. But it would just be nice to have fun and to really celebrate what we’ve done. We’ve worked so hard for so long.

I got a really funny e-mail from Avijit. He always writes short e-mails; he’s not a wordy boy. And he said, "I heard you’re coming to India. Tell me more about the Oscars." It was like, oh God, I’ve created a monster.

Q: When you’re sitting in these awards ceremonies and doing these interviews, does it ever feel strange to be doing all this stuff without the kids?

A: I never forget about the kids. At some point it concerned me because I didn’t know how much they understood, but I think they get it as much as they can now. We keep in touch with them, people e-mail them, they know that we’re selling their prints and we’ve raised $100,000 for them, for their education. I think they’re just really excited. I’ll find out. We’ll see, when we go back.

Q: Tell me about how Kids with Cameras came about.

A: I originally wanted to start something in the red-light district, just initiate something in the red-light district that other local photographers would take over. They expressed all this interest, and then they never showed up. So I was disappointed from the beginning. I saw tremendous potential there, to help and to inspire the kids. Then I thought, okay, they’re taking such amazing photos; I’d like to sell the photos, I can raise money for the kids for their education, I’ll support a local organization. And I couldn’t find one that I would support. Which really sucked. Or [find] anybody that was working with children of prostitutes. I mean, there are these little centers and stuff, but nothing where I would put kids. I kind of treated the kids like they were my own kids. So in the end, I started a nonprofit to raise money for the kids and somehow pay for their education.

I didn’t know what I was doing. I literally bought Nonprofits for Dummies, that’s how I started. I ended up getting free legal help to set it up, and kind of learned the hard way. I didn’t know about boards, I didn’t know anything. It’s still kind of hard for me. I learned the power of photography, and the power of empowering children through photography. It’s grown like crazy in the last year, but it really took off through the film, I think, because people can see what I was doing, and how powerful it is.