Daughters of Destiny

The Shanti Bhavan boarding school, in Tamil Nadu, India, founded by a rich man who realized giving away most of his money to the “lowest” members of his society would make him infinitely richer, caters to children of the Dalits, the so-called “untouchables,” India’s bottom caste. The goal is to educate them so they can take care of themselves, their families and their communities. Director Vanessa Roth’s multi-year chronicle of five girls, “Daughters of Destiny,” is a beautiful, heartbreaking, altogether human reminder that opportunity, not genetics, determines our paths, and those who are given a chance, no matter how long the odds, will seize it and soar. Highly recommended.