film

Jungle Sisters

Bertha Journalism

Director

Chloe Ruthven

 

Development support

 

In 2008 the Indian Government launched an initiative to train 500 million of the rural poor to work in its growing industrial sector. Chloe Ruthven's thought-provoking film tells the story of two village girls, Bhanu and Bhuntu, whose induction into the working world is overseen by Orlanda, Ruthven's sister. Orlanda works with an organisation that trains and places young women into textiles factories to produce clothes for corporate giants such as Gap. As Bhanu and Bhuntu travel to the city to take their places as part of India's business-friendly future, the reality of life on the factory floor forces all three of them to face questions of social justice, family loyalty and the role of corporate responsibility.