Children of God (2009)

There's another film 2009 called Children of God. Its an LGBT film which looked interesting after I saw the trailer. However, that is not this film. I really wish I could find a trailer online for it. It was such a moving movie. I guess a synopsis will have to do.

Where the dead have more worth than the living…

“A powerful film, the documentary version of slumdog millionaire” —Independent Film Quarterly

Winner! Best Documentary! Jeonju 2009 International Film Festival!
Winner! Best Documentary! Japan, Korea, China Producers Forum
Official Selection! 2009 Hot Docs International Film Festival, Canada!

“Children of God” explores the life of the children who live beside the Baghmati River in Nepal - on the sacred grounds of a Hindu temple in Katmandu – an area forgotten and ignored by the world, but considered the holiest and most sacred to the Nepalese people. The children are undeterred by the daily cries and wailing from the daily funeral ceremonies; instead they rob the corpses for food and dive into the river to grab coins used as funeral offerings by the mourners. Some risk their lives by begging while others fall prey to drugs and disease. The film exposes the social conditions of the suppressed Nepalese people through the plight of their children, where reverence for the old and dead far outweighs the care for the young and living. Experiencing their innocence and their hardship through songs, stories and heartbreaking living conditions, exposes the contradiction of the material world that rests upon perhaps the most spiritual culture on earth. Children of God will remind you of scenes from “Slumdog Millionaire” and is reminiscent of Charcoal People released by Vanguard Cinema.

Earlier I blogged about how emo I was and how I needed someone to smack some sense into me. This film was exactly that. It's good to have a reminder of how blessed I am, how spoiled I am. It keeps me in check and makes me grateful. The children in this film struggle so much, yet the filmmakers managed to make this film relatively light. Focusing on their happiness, the familial bonds that tie them together.  I helps me realize how insignificant most of my problems are. Keeps me driven to succeed, so that I'll be in a position where I can make more of a difference.