UPDATE: We have heard reports that the new website is not an official agent of China Lucky Film and that the announcement of Lucky Color 200 is not officially endorsed by the film’s manufacturer. We have contacted Lucky Film Global, OneSec and China Lucky Film’s representatives for more detail.
China Lucky Film‘s forthcoming colour negative film is a 200-ISO emulsion called Lucky Color 200, according to a new website and Instagram account launched on Thursday (6 February). The Instagram account is named “Lucky Film Global”.
The new website, luckyfilm.net apparently based in the US, carries images of the new film’s cassette and says the film is coming out at some point in 2025.
China Lucky Film, a major Chinese film manufacturer which produced a range of colour emulsions in the 2000s, has hinted at a return to colour film since restarting its black-and-white production in the last few years.
In recent months, the hints seem to have become more substantial, with a post of Chinese film respooler Reflex Lab last month saying that the new colour film is nearing the end of its testing phase and likely to be released in the spring or summer.
Previously, the Chinese film manufacturer has said that any new colour film will be the cheapest on the market.
The new Lucky Film website said: “After over a decade, Lucky Color Film is making a comeback. This year, Lucky is introducing a brand new, true original C-41 colour negative 35mm film. We’re ready to claim a new legacy turning everyday moments into timeless images at a price today’s photographers can afford.”
The new website says the team in the US will be handling wholesale and retail orders for the new film “across the Americas and Europe”. The site currently does not have an About page, and currently carries no images taken on the announced film.
China Lucky Film’s own site, however, doesn’t currently have any information or pictures of the new film.
the new generation of Lucky Color Negative Film is expected to launch in the first half of 2025 – ONESEC
“Lucky Color Film is available for purchase exclusively through local retailers & distributors,” the new website says. “Looking to get Lucky Film? Get in touch with your favourite lab or camera store to see if they will be carrying Lucky Color once it’s available.”
Prospective retailers announced on the website are Brooklyn Film Camera in New York in the US, and a Canadian film seller called OneSec.
OneSec, which currently markets a range of films that look to be respooled from Kodak cinema film, has more details on the film on its website.
“Over the past few years, we’ve worked closely with Lucky as a North American partner, providing market insights and support,” it said. “Thanks to the global resurgence of analogue photography driven by film enthusiasts worldwide, Lucky has decided to restart its colour negative film production line in 2024.
“Reviving a discontinued product is no small feat. Lucky has faced numerous challenges, from restarting long-dormant formula development to calibrating equipment and restoring supply chains,” OneSec said. “The company is now in the final stages of overcoming these hurdles. If all goes according to plan, the new generation of Lucky Color Negative Film is expected to launch in the first half of 2025, offering superior development results and colour reproduction.”
OneSec’s further information, however, casts some doubt on whether the film is finalised, however: “Based on the information we have, the new product will likely be an ISO 200 standard colour negative film compatible with 35mm/135-format cameras,” it says. “Moreover, the film will utilise new materials developed with the latest technology, offering imaging performance that can surpass similar existing products! Once Lucky reach full production, the development quality and colour accuracy are expected to be exceptional.”
Kosmo Foto has contacted both the new Lucky website and OneSec, and will bring you more details when we have them.
I'm a New Zealander who has been living in London since the mid-1990s, shooting film seriously since the year 2000. Kosmo Foto was launched in 2012 and has since become a film brand, with the release of my first films Kosmo Foto Mono 35mm (2017) and Kosmo Foto Mono 120 (2019).
I’m doing everything I can to promote film photography in the 21st Century, and help it survive and thrive. If you want to write something for Kosmo Foto, please drop me a line at foto.dowling@gmail.com.
Could be that it’s Orwo’s color 200 film. I know that they where busy with that in 2023 however it was silent around that film since. Seeing that Oreo was selling their UN54, and been sold als Shanghai GP3 I would be surprised if this would be the case with this color film.
This is beyond ridiculous, near delusional hypothesis. No, absolutely not. There’s no way that Luckyfilm would rebrand ORWO stuff, if Luckyfilm would just make their last color emulsion it would already be miles better than ORWO. Since Luckyfilm is also looking at potential slide film production, it makes no sense to coat films at ORWO plants, since they are worse, more expensive and wouldn’t help with their brand either.