The DIY dream is being able to build anything. So HeimatTBWA\ and Hornbach built a 35mm camera using only hardware-store supplies – pipes, a magnifying glass, cement mixer and waste bin – and then used the camera to shoot its new campaign. The project was led by the Glue Society alongside Berlin production company, Tony Peterson Film, and Sydney’s REVOLVER.

The idea was conceived ten years ago but put on hold until a year and a half ago. Five young makers were invited to bring the idea to life, with each of them bringing specific skills in carpentry, design, CAD technology, metal working or photography.

The full campaign includes three films including an 11 minute-documentary produced over seven days at the HORNBACH Colentina store in Bucharest that tells the project story.

In the first film, a narrator explains its grainy, handheld footage, barely in focus, with the film’s “homemade” feel underlined by a backing track of offbeat percussion.

The second film is inexplicable, and strangely mesmerising.

The behind-the-scenes documentary explains how the camera was made. The lens is a magnifying glass held in place with a water pipe. A cement mixer drives the light-sensitive 35mm film and the lens hood is a cut-open organic waste bin.