Chinese film producer Lucky Film is re-releasing its SHD400 black-and-white film – and may return to colour film production in the future.
The return of SHD400 film, which is expected to start shipping in March, was announced on the Instagram account of Chinese film brand Reflx Lab on Sunday (4 February). Reflx Lab sells a range of colour and black-and-white films, some of them derived from Kodak cinema films.
SHD400, which is shows pronounced grain at box speed, is thought to have been first produced in the early 2000s, after the Lucky Group Corporation started producing film in China in co-operation with Kodak. The film is believed to have been discontinued in 2012.
Reflx Lab’s Instagram post said: “Lucky Film from China is reproducing its SHD400 black and white film. And we are going to sell it to overseas in March 2024. That is great news for the analogue photography community.”
Reflex Lab’s post added: “If this film is selling well, Lucky might reproduce its colour film too.”
Lucky Film produced a trio of colour negative films from 2003 – after the company signed a 20-year partnership with Kodak which in reality only ran for four years. The films, called GBR 100, GBR 200 and GBR 400, were produced to supply a burgeoning Chinese film market before the arrival of digital photography. All three films are thought to have been discontinued in 2012.
The films were also marketed outside China under the “Lucky Super” name.
Reflx Lab’s announcement of the new film is the most definitive proof that the Lucky Film may be returning to serious film production. In 2017, New SHD100, a 100-ISO black-and-white emulsions, was produced, an updated version of the original SHD100 emulsion. The film has not been available outside China since 2019.
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So, I bought a box of Lucky super 200 GBR 200 last year in Chiang Mai Thailand. No expiration date or Dev By date. And its probably over 10 yrs old? Well lets see how it comes out. Might be good for some double exposure experiments!