Film Ferrania - Developments from October 2023 onward

[fs999]

As I write this post, new batches of P33 are being processed at LRF. Format 135 - 36 exp.

And 120 format ?

 

[brbo]

As I write this post, new batches of P33 are being processed at LRF. Format 135 - 36 exp.

Processed?! I'd rather shoot them first and only then process them!

I know, I know...

Just my way of saying that it's great to hear Ferrania & P33 are alive and kicking!

 

[Agulliver]

Good to know! What is "LRF"?

The LRF is the smaller research building that Film Ferrania has occupied since becoming an entity. All the Film Ferrania films (as opposed to the pre-2009 company) have been researched, and manufactured at the LRF.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

Hopefully it'll be "processed" in 120!

 

[Agulliver]

I've just seen the following on Film Ferrania's Instagram


"Hello FF community,
Film Ferrania is finally returning to the market. The precision coater, freshly refurbished, is once again whirring in the famous LRF building and we are proud to announce the hiring of wonderful additional chemists to add to our talented team.
This is thanks to a completely new organisation and very significant industrial investments made throughout 2025, aimed at bringing Ferrania's iconic black-and-white film back into the hands of enthusiasts like you and ensuring a steady supply for the future.
The new owners and management are now looking to resolve the final outstanding issue, which is the old company's failed Kickstarter campaign. Whilst this is a strange legacy to inherit, the new owners recognise that none of this would have been possible without the support of early backers of that original Kickstarter campaign all those years ago.
For those who did not receive their reward, it will soon be possible to register on our website and receive a voucher to use on our soon-to-open ecommerce store.
Please stay tuned for further information and have a very merry Christmas"

Odd choice of words as the Kickstarter was very successful. It raised the necessary funds to acquire the machinery and that was the only *promise* ever made.

Hopefully good news all round, including for the people who moan that they "ordered" film way back when.

 

[Fortepun]

I've just seen the following on Film Ferrania's Instagram


"Hello FF community,
Film Ferrania is finally returning to the market. The precision coater, freshly refurbished, is once again whirring in the famous LRF building and we are proud to announce the hiring of wonderful additional chemists to add to our talented team.
This is thanks to a completely new organisation and very significant industrial investments made throughout 2025, aimed at bringing Ferrania's iconic black-and-white film back into the hands of enthusiasts like you and ensuring a steady supply for the future.
The new owners and management are now looking to resolve the final outstanding issue, which is the old company's failed Kickstarter campaign. Whilst this is a strange legacy to inherit, the new owners recognise that none of this would have been possible without the support of early backers of that original Kickstarter campaign all those years ago.
For those who did not receive their reward, it will soon be possible to register on our website and receive a voucher to use on our soon-to-open ecommerce store.
Please stay tuned for further information and have a very merry Christmas"

Odd choice of words as the Kickstarter was very successful. It raised the necessary funds to acquire the machinery and that was the only *promise* ever made.

Hopefully good news all round, including for the people who moan that they "ordered" film way back when.

And this is indeed a huge deal, and I wish the new team the very best of luck.

 

[Andrew O'Neill]

I agree! They succeeded in their mission of rescuing specific machinery.
Good news, anyways!

 

[polaromar]

This is fantastic news! Sounds like Ferrania being under ORWO is bringing some stability, and the additional machinery could also help Filmotec and InovisCoat. Hopefully we will start seeing P30 and P33 stocked again soon. Since Freestyle already has the new P30, I wonder if they will become the new authorized distributor Stateside.

Odd choice of words as the Kickstarter was very successful. It raised the necessary funds to acquire the machinery and that was the only *promise* ever made.

Caveat emptor is in short supply I guess. If you check Reddit or similar social media platforms, any reference to Ferrania is invariably followed by at least 1-2 people, who are there only to complain loudly about how evil the company is. It's toxic for business long term, so I get why they want to finish cleaning it up.

 

[Nzoomed]

I've just seen the following on Film Ferrania's Instagram


"Hello FF community,
Film Ferrania is finally returning to the market. The precision coater, freshly refurbished, is once again whirring in the famous LRF building and we are proud to announce the hiring of wonderful additional chemists to add to our talented team.
This is thanks to a completely new organisation and very significant industrial investments made throughout 2025, aimed at bringing Ferrania's iconic black-and-white film back into the hands of enthusiasts like you and ensuring a steady supply for the future.
The new owners and management are now looking to resolve the final outstanding issue, which is the old company's failed Kickstarter campaign. Whilst this is a strange legacy to inherit, the new owners recognise that none of this would have been possible without the support of early backers of that original Kickstarter campaign all those years ago.
For those who did not receive their reward, it will soon be possible to register on our website and receive a voucher to use on our soon-to-open ecommerce store.
Please stay tuned for further information and have a very merry Christmas"

Odd choice of words as the Kickstarter was very successful. It raised the necessary funds to acquire the machinery and that was the only *promise* ever made.

Hopefully good news all round, including for the people who moan that they "ordered" film way back when.

This is good news considering im an original kickstarter backer.
It also appears we might be on the brink of seeing colour film begin production too.

 

[Agulliver]

Elsewhere the new Film Ferrania has stated they'll bring back all the B&W products they were producing a few years ago....so we can assume P30, P33 and Orto are going to come back soon.

As for colour, we just don't know how close they are. As I tried to say upthread, the fact that the old Ferrania made decent C41 colour film and E6 film means that some of the knowledge and experience may still be there. But we know it's incredibly difficult.

 

[albireo]

Ah great news, P33 in 120 if continuously produced and supported would quickly become a modern classic.

All the best to the new team!

 

[Ainarref]

People on the “photographer side” cannot fully understand how difficult the “research and production side” of photosensitive materials is.
Today more than ever before.
This truth can be demonstrated with just one example.
There is currently a very well established player on the market that has scientists, equipment and money at its disposal, but little experience with color, and the initial results from a strictly technical point of view with that type of material (enormously more complex than b/w) are there for all to see.
That should make us think...

 

[Peter Schrager]

Ah great news, P33 in 120 if continuously produced and supported would quickly become a modern classic.

All the best to the

True if I ever get some already!

 

[Rudeofus]

As for colour, we just don't know how close they are. As I tried to say upthread, the fact that the old Ferrania made decent C41 colour film and E6 film means that some of the knowledge and experience may still be there. But we know it's incredibly difficult.

Many years ago Ilford made color film, then they stopped. While they went through the inevitable ups and downs of analog material makers world wide, they always had a full B&W production going and were likely much better funded than Ferrania. Even under these circumstances they spent years fighting heroically to create a color negative film product, which still has "a lot of character in its color palette", and this already at the second attempt.

I would love to see a new Ferrania color product, but I won't hold my breath.

 

[Agulliver]

Many years ago Ilford made color film, then they stopped. While they went through the inevitable ups and downs of analog material makers world wide, they always had a full B&W production going and were likely much better funded than Ferrania. Even under these circumstances they spent years fighting heroically to create a color negative film product, which still has "a lot of character in its color palette", and this already at the second attempt.

I would love to see a new Ferrania color product, but I won't hold my breath.

Ilford never made colour film without the help of a chemical giant - ICI or Konika/Sakura. Phoenix is the first ever in-house colour film emulsion they've come up with. And there's nobody working at Harman/Ilford now who was involved in making any of those old colour films in the 60s and 70s (the 80s film was simply rebranded Sakura).

There possibly *are* people at Film Ferrania who were involved with colour film R&D and production, and remember the old Ferrania company was one of a very select group to ever master the manufacture of C41 film. Film Ferrania's coater is know to be able to coat colour film too. None of this makes it easy, but it may be less difficult for them compared to Harman.

I certainly won't hold my breath either. But they have one or two advantages. Possibly.

 

[flavio81]

Processed?! I'd rather shoot them first and only then process them!

Perhaps they already come with great pictures optically printed on them ... No need to shoot the film, not even a need to develop the film, it already comes ready to print or scan!

Odd choice of words as the Kickstarter was very successful. It raised the necessary funds to acquire the machinery and that was the only *promise* ever made.

I'd suggest you to put a flameproof suit on, because probably some of the infuriated backers who spent their money expecting color reversal film will be outraged after reading such a comment. And I bet there are many on this forum.

From the kickstarter page:

Many years ago Ilford made color film

Made by Konica, as far as I remember. It was common knowledge at the time.

There possibly *are* people at Film Ferrania who were involved with colour film R&D and production

Exactly. At least under the Nicola / Marco management (prior management) there were engineers who did have all the necessary experience and know how. This was a necessary condition, as the rewards for the kickstarter campaings were color reversal film...

 

[flavio81]

Caveat emptor is in short supply I guess. If you check Reddit or similar social media platforms, any reference to Ferrania is invariably followed by at least 1-2 people, who are there only to complain loudly about how evil the company is. It's toxic for business long term, so I get why they want to finish cleaning it up.

+1 Exactly. Common business sense.

Congratulations on the new management for trying to clean the mess the prior management left.

 

[halfaman]

Perhaps they already come with great pictures optically printed on them ... No need to shoot the film, not even a need to develop the film, it already comes ready to print or scan!



I'd suggest you to put a flameproof suit on, because probably some of the infuriated backers who spent their money expecting color reversal film will be outraged after reading such a comment. And I bet there are many on this forum.

From the kickstarter page:

View attachment 413752



Made by Konica, as far as I remember. It was common knowledge at the time.



Exactly. At least under the Nicola / Marco management (prior management) there were engineers who did have all the necessary experience and know how. This was a necessary condition, as the rewards for the kickstarter campaings were color reversal film...

As far as I remember, it took so long to have their facility working (3 years?) than the materials for ScotchChrome 100 they had from old Ferraria couldn't be used anymore.

 

[tih]

As far as I remember, it took so long to have their facility working (3 years?) than the materials for ScotchChrome 100 they had from old Ferraria couldn't be used anymore.

The time frame for the initial run was much shorter than that. They had the machinery, and they had the chemicals, and they went out on a limb claiming they were certain they could make that one initial batch of film before starting the refurbishing work - and then unforeseen obstacles came up, for a while preventing them from even entering the building, and by the time they were ready to start production, it was too late.

If I recall correctly, they were without electricity for a while, and they were locked out for some time after asbestos was found in the building - both unforeseen problems that were out of their control.

 

[tykos]

If I recall correctly, they were without electricity for a while, and they were locked out for some time after asbestos was found in the building - both unforeseen problems that were out of their control.

(not to bash on anyone, but: don't know if the management had informations about recent renovations or asbestos remediation that could've cleared the area, otherwise every intervention in an old factory in italy should take asbestos as a given fact)

 

[Agulliver]

As far as I remember, it took so long to have their facility working (3 years?) than the materials for ScotchChrome 100 they had from old Ferraria couldn't be used anymore.

This.

Plus anyone who thought they were guaranteed E6 film clearly didn't understand the T&C of the Kickstarter. The funds were *donated* towards saving machinery - which was successful. The rewards were a hoped for byproduct which sadly couldn't be materialised because of the delays. Not just the asbestos but the Italian government deciding to cut the campus in half and cut off power & gas for over a year didn't help. By the time they were able to gain access to the LRF again the chemicals that could have been used for one last batch of "Scotch Chrome" had gone off...so they offered vouchers for P30....which some chose to ignore or not to take up in the belief that colour film would come soon.

And still, any time Ferrania pokes it's head out...you get people moaning that they "ordered" film. Nope. nobody ordered anything. The level of entitlement is, frankly, astonishing.

 

[TheFlyingCamera]

This.

Plus anyone who thought they were guaranteed E6 film clearly didn't understand the T&C of the Kickstarter. The funds were *donated* towards saving machinery - which was successful. The rewards were a hoped for byproduct which sadly couldn't be materialised because of the delays. Not just the asbestos but the Italian government deciding to cut the campus in half and cut off power & gas for over a year didn't help. By the time they were able to gain access to the LRF again the chemicals that could have been used for one last batch of "Scotch Chrome" had gone off...so they offered vouchers for P30....which some chose to ignore or not to take up in the belief that colour film would come soon.

And still, any time Ferrania pokes it's head out...you get people moaning that they "ordered" film. Nope. nobody ordered anything. The level of entitlement is, frankly, astonishing.

I would have taken P30 if they had made it in 120- but they never fulfilled that offer either. It felt like a bait-and-switch, twice. I get the reasons why the color film never materialized. I think the reason why people are still pissed off is that they kept on over-promising and under-delivering. It's the reason the Travelwide cameras engendered so much ill will - the folks who came up with it kept saying "oh, one last problem to solve and then we'll ship product", only to come up with another problem, and then they stopped communicating altogether for a while. Ferrania initially said "we will make color transparency film in 35mm AND 120", then "we will make P30 in 35mm AND 120", then it became "we're only doing P30 in 35mm". Then they came out with P33, again only in 35mm... so you can maybe see why those of us who backed it and selected 120 as our film format might be peeved that they never got what they requested. Every time they came up with an alternative, it was not an alternative we could use.

 

[julio1fer]

I just hope that they can start regular production of b&w film, once and for all, and get their distribution and web sales machinery going. New management and technical hires look like positive news.

Film production is not a trivial manufacturing task.

 

[Richard Lawson]

I would have taken P30 if they had made it in 120- but they never fulfilled that offer either. It felt like a bait-and-switch, twice. I get the reasons why the color film never materialized. I think the reason why people are still pissed off is that they kept on over-promising and under-delivering. It's the reason the Travelwide cameras engendered so much ill will - the folks who came up with it kept saying "oh, one last problem to solve and then we'll ship product", only to come up with another problem, and then they stopped communicating altogether for a while. Ferrania initially said "we will make color transparency film in 35mm AND 120", then "we will make P30 in 35mm AND 120", then it became "we're only doing P30 in 35mm". Then they came out with P33, again only in 35mm... so you can maybe see why those of us who backed it and selected 120 as our film format might be peeved that they never got what they requested. Every time they came up with an alternative, it was not an alternative we could use.

P30 was definitely available in 120, although perhaps not claimable via the vouchers for Kickstarter rewards. I bought and shot a handful of rolls of it over the last couple of years.

In general, this is a good example of the potential pitfalls of kickstarters. It wasn't a total failure, but also not a complete success. As with all business startups everything takes longer, costs more and hits snags along the way.

I'm still hopeful of some E6 getting produced eventually by ferrainia or one of the Chinese manufacturers setting up film production but will finally believe it when I have the product in front of me.