Director: Kurt Hoerbst / Alexandra Grill.
When wandering through rural Bangladesh with a camera in your hand the sentence „Bideshi…chobi, chobi…! – Stranger! Take a photo of me!” will soon be heard all around. An unbelievably delighted eagerness to be photographed is definitely there. When Kurt Hoerbst met and fell for the village Rudrapur and its dwellers in 2005 the idea for the project BIDESHI Photostudio was founded. People in Rudrapur live simple, agriculture and craftsmanship dominate everyday life. Family itself as the highest rated value in society, is nevertheless rarely preserved in a photograph as it would be in more western parts of the world… Technology and the arts simply are too far away or not affordable- up until… The project BIDESHI Photostudio, which started off in December 2008 after intense preparations and diligent planning by Austrian Kurt Hoerbst, first and foremost provided a welcome opportunity to earn money for the men of Rudrapur. The experienced bamboo and clay specialists constructed a simple but impressive building within a month’s work – by hand! The hut and the entire project were organised in cooperation with Dipshikha, a well-established organisation in Rudrapur. As a close neighbour to the Meti-School, which is well-renowned through various prizes in architecture, the daylight studio offered locals to be photographed professionally from the beginning of February 2009. A glass roof and light Sari-fabrics on the side walls created a soft ambience in combination with the clay ground and back wall. While project assistant Alexandra Grill took digital photos of the families, Kurt Hoerbst photographed the villagers analogue in a large format system. Single portraits in front of the even clay background of course had to be taken as well! The digital data was edited, printed and laminated the same and passed on to the curious models the next day. Surprised by their image (and often amused) they usually welcomed their photographs with great fascination.