In 2017 film photography blog Kosmo Foto launched its Space Age-themed Mono film.
In 2021, it went full film noir with its spy-themed film Agent Shadow.
Now, we’ve launched a third – one that you can’t buy in the shops, or even from the Kosmo Foto website.
Kosmo Foto Direktor is a limited-edition bulk-rolled version of Eastman Kodak’s much-loved 5222 XX black-and-white cinema film.
It’s a fantastic mono film that was purpose-built to be used in dim light. You’ll have seen it in films from ‘Raging Bull’ to ‘Casino Royal’ and ‘Oppenheimer’.
It has an ISO of 250 but can be pushed far beyond that and still yield fantastic results.
Direktor is our first bulk-rolled film, using recycled cassettes and canisters. It features a fantastic sticker design from My Mate Does Art evoking Soviet avant-garde cinema of the 1920s. Direktor will cost only £9.50 per 36-frame roll
It is being launched with a special early version “director’s cut” which will be available only at the Photographica camera fair in London on Sunday 17 May.
There will be fewer than 250 rolls available on the day – and once they’re sold, that’s it.
We are also keeping a very limited amount of stock for a walk in collaboration with The Photographers’ Gallery Bookshop. The Direktor walk will take place on Saturday 23 May, starting at The Photographers’ Gallery on Ramilles Street.
After that, the film is expected to be offered through the Kosmo Foto online store later in the summer. This version is likely to be different and even more collectable. We’ll be offering people the chance to pre-order it ahead of its production. The next batch is likely to be only 500 rolls – but if its popular we’ll announce more.
Direktor is one of a number of small-scale film releases Kosmo Foto has planned for the coming months – stay tuned for more.
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.
Good news..I finished my stock of Agent Shadow a long time ago.