Tuesday, April 23, 2013

Review and Giveaway: Mother India


We sponsor a child in India, so the opportunity to learn more about that country is something I tend to go for.  Mother India, a short documentary film released today, was a great vehicle for getting a glimpse of life for (primarily) orphans in India.

Let's take a quick look at the description from the producers:
Winner of “Best Short Documentary” at the 2012 San Diego Christian Film Festival, Mother India is a compelling documentary that chronicles the adventure of 25 courageous orphans living as a family along the railway in Tenali, India. Mother India brings to light the struggles faced daily by over 31 million orphans in India and the challenge of rescuing them from a life of begging and addiction.

Mother India, is the work of first-time filmmakers David Trotter and Shawn Scheinoha.  “India is growing in both population and industry, but few people know that there are over 31 million orphans in this nation,” commented Trotter (Executive Producer, Director). “Each of these young lives is much more than a statistic. Every one of them has a name, a face and a story.” Scheinoha (Executive Producer) added, “We’re not out to just tell a tragic story. We’re focused on raising awareness and changing lives.”
We sat down to watch this as a family.  Connor, 15, was reading aloud the subtitles as parts are not in English.  That is something that adds some realism, and in the case of this film, it was nice as a lot of the subtitles.  So, my advice would be that there is some subject matter in this documentary that you may not want your seven-year-old to be hearing.

Life for these 25 kids isn't easy.  There is talk of sexual abuse, the prevalence of AIDS, injections, beatings, etc.  In spite of that, this isn't a depressing documentary.  The overall message is one of hope, especially if kids can get some help early.  Harvest India is one organization that is featured, and they certainly are a big, bright spot in this film.

Check out the trailer: 



Mother India is well worth watching, and I think it can give teens and tweens a fresh perspective on life, and on life in other places.  You might want to watch it yourself, though, before sharing it with younger children.

I have a copy of this movie to give away too. 

a Rafflecopter giveaway



Disclaimer:   I received this DVD and an additional DVD for a giveaway  for free through Blogger Gateway.  No other compensation was received.  The fact that I received a complimentary product does not guarantee a favorable review.  All opinions expressed are mine, or those of my family.

3 comments:

Gwen T said...

Sounds like an interesting one for my older kids!

Jen U. said...

I would LOVE to win this because it sounds different than other documentary's we have watched in that it shows life through the children's eyes rather than showing them as just a statistic.

conversaving.com said...

My husband and I are praying about taking a mission trip to India in November. We would love to see this as we will be visiting some orphanages and a leper colony if we get to go.