Zana Briski earned a Master's degree in theology and religious studies at Cambridge University before relocating to New York, where she attended the International Center of Photography. She first traveled to India with her camera in 1995. Moved by the women she encountered, she began to document the harsh physical and social realities of their lives. In 1997 she discovered Calcutta's red-light district and spent months living in a brothel, photographing the women and eventually teaching their children photography. This story is illuminated her resulting film, Born into Brothels, which won the 2005 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, along with 35 other major awards. She has also received numerous awards for her photography including the 2005 Lucie Humanitarian Award and a first prize from the World Press Photo Foundation. In 2002 Briski founded Kids with Cameras, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering marginalized children around the world through photography. In 2007 she self-published her first photography book, Brothel. www.zanabriski.com