Private Project

Fotoshop

Almost 66 countries worldwide practice alternative photography printing. In India, Foto Company, a Santiniketan-based photographic community, became the pioneer in practicing alternative printing methods in the Eastern part of India.

Foto Company firmly believe in the craftsmanship of photography, and conducted a workshop in December 2013 at the huge fairgrounds of Poush Mela (Santiniketan), an annual fair marking the harvest season. Some 1,500 stalls take part in the fair, selling local crafts. FOTO COMPANY was a unique photography workshop stall that year.

Encouraged to attend the workshop, Ayan (director) & Santanava (cinematographer) experienced the workshop in cyanotype printmaking, and made the documentary - FOTOSHOP.

FOTOSHOP is a journey into the lives of eight youngsters and their search for historical photographic methods in use in the digital era. The film is as much about an eighteenth century photographic print making process, as it is about friendship, adventure, and the youth who, in the digital era of photography, discover their roots in photo printing.

  • Ayan Nandi
    Director
  • Ayan Nandi
    Writer
  • VISUALTHEQUE
    Producer
  • Santanava Roy
    Cinematographer
  • Sabyasachi Bhattacharya
    Music Director
  • Sandip Kumar Singha
    Sound Design
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Feature
  • Genres:
    Drama, Human Interest, Photography, Photo Printing, Analogue Printing
  • Runtime:
    55 minutes 28 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    December 15, 2016
  • Production Budget:
    9,200 USD
  • Country of Origin:
    India
  • Country of Filming:
    India
  • Language:
    Bengali, English
  • Shooting Format:
    High Definition
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    Yes
  • Student Project:
    No
Director Biography - Ayan Nandi

A visual communication designer, Ayan Nandi, for the most part, continues teaching design & animation filmmaking across reputed design schools of India. He has also practiced animation film design for production houses of India, and continues to do so for independent clients.

Nandi also performs for the stage and cinema, and was part of Black Wing, India’s first VR short film (fiction) (Dir.: Felix Harrison; Prod.: Newscope Films).

As a filmmaker, Nandi is inclined towards the documentary format, and has written, directed & edited his first documentary project - Fotoshop. Currently, travelling with the film, Nandi is also working on the pre-production of another upcoming documentary project.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

What started as an attempt to record the cyanotype process for future reference, turned into a feature length documentary within the first few hours of visiting the workshop. As a photographer, I am always curious to learn & try difference methods of photo development. But I was struck by the fact that a group of 20-something were trying to keep alive an age old process. Their story needed to be told, if only to connect them with the larger population out there, practicing alternate photo printing methods.