Street children tell their tale on big screen

India's first full-length feature film produced by street children is being filmed right here in Bangalore. When we say "produced", we truly mean that the children have pumped in the money for the film.

Ananda: An Ode to Joy has become a reality thanks to the contribution – some as modest as Rs20 and Rs30 – of hundreds of freed bonded labour children, most of them from Bornfree Art School International, a special school which aims to liberate toiling children and help put them back into mainstream education.

The film, quite predictably, portrays the lives of street children.
But there's nothing predictable about the process that has gone into making the film. About 300 child actors are featured, 20 among them from Bornfree Art School. The monies aside, the children have been involved in every aspect of filmmaking from lighting to camera work to the production. Wearing the director's hat is John Devaraj, artistic director, Bornfree Art School International.

Shot over 20 days in and around Bangalore, the makers used the guerrilla style of filming. It involves bare hand techniques of handling the camera; use of available lights and motor headlights for night shots, etc. The film is made on a high definition video format enabling it to be screened in cinema houses and film festivals. The film is scheduled to be released on August 6 simultaneously in India and Japan, in Kannada, English, Tamil and Japanese.

The aim of Bornfree Art School is to enable children to express their freedom through art, culture, music and dance, Devaraj says. The film represents this freedom. "The aim is to produce a culture of liberation -- the Bornfree Art School is born free!" he says.

The protagonist is Ananda, a street kid who takes to minor crimes. He is caught in a local gang war and realises that crime doesn't pay. The film traces the way he uses art, dance and music to liberate himself and his friends. Ananda changes fist fighting feuds to artistic challenges using dance, sports, drumming, stilt walking, painting and rock climbing.

The film is in the post-production stage and can do with financial support. Cheques in favour of 'India to the Artists United' or 'Gondwanaland Foundation' may be dropped at 21, 2nd Cross GH Layout 3rd Block, East Jayanagar, Bangalore-560011.
Mail johndevaraj@gmail.com or call 98863-06366 for more details.