BBC: Children at work
Zachariah Fletcher, a 21-year-old actor whose parents were circus performers, travels to Kharkov in Ukraine where he joins Russian circus family the Averyushkins on tour. Zach makes the 500-mile journey back to their home in Moscow, where Artem attends school for an assessment, and Zach explores how growing up as a professional circus performer has affected Artem's childhood. Zach asks whether circus life and family life really are compatible with each other and explores the challenges that children face from the intensive training required, and how that is balanced with their education and social lives.
Kaajel Patel, a 20-year-old art student from Leicester, travels to Mumbai in South India. She follows the lives of three girls who all work within the television and film industry, starting with Afsha who is only eight years old and has already had success in child roles. Kaajel finds out how these girls cope with the pressures of fame, the competition and she sees how the glamour on-screen contrasts with their everyday lives. She sees how these young girls manage their busy working lives around education, auditions and friendships, and how their work is supporting their families to give them all a better life.
Client: BBC
Length: 30 mins
Produced and directed by Sky Neal, Series produced by Moonbeam films.
Two hundred million children around the world go to work everyday. This presenter led series explores their lives for BBC Education.
Two of the four part series were produced and directed by Sky Neal.