Is this the coolest film packaging ever? Kosmo Foto’s new “Agent Shadow” film has been fully funded on Kickstarter with four days to go. The film is scheduled to be shipped from September 2021.
The striking noir-inspired design is not limited to the film packaging: there's also a graphic novella and magnetic-seal briefcase that continues the noir theme. The Agent Shadow concept was created by the design team behind Kosmo Foto’s first film Mono, which features stunning cosmonaut-inspired packaging.
An excerpt from the graphic novella 'The 36 Frames'.
Agent Shadow is listed as an ISO 400 panchromatic black and white 35mm film. Like Mono, Agent Shadow is not a new emulsion, but an existing film that has been rebranded. The Kickstarter does not reveal what exactly the film is, but does drop some clues.
Agent Shadow can be pushed up to ISO 6400 with good results. Image copyright Stephen Dowling.
“The film is made by one of the most famous names in film production, with nearly 150 years’ experience making film and photographic products.” Another clue tells us that “This is a tried-and-trusted emulsion already in production, not an experimental formula.”
There’s a couple of possibilities in the frame, but the most obvious would be that this film is produced by Harman Technology, the owners of Ilford. It seems only Kosmo Foto’s Stephen Dowling knows the true identity of the film at this stage, but a full dev chart will be published when the film ships, which should give further clues.
Night time shooting with Agent Shadow. Image copyright Anthony Rue.
A range of rewards were proposed in the Kickstarter, including Agent Shadow film, the graphic novella "The 36 Frames", and a magnetic-seal briefcase box. Those with deeper pockets could opt for the Agent Shadow Spytacular Briefcase. For a pledge of $692 you receive 25 rolls of film, the novella and magnetic-seal briefcase box mentioned above, a customized vintage leather briefcase, and a refurbished 35mm rangefinder camera and lens combo.
Agent Shadow film with the magnetic-seal briefcase reward.
Kosmo Foto was founded by London-based New Zealander Stephen Dowling in 2012 as a blog about analog photography.
Fstoppers does not endorse this project; please do your own research before backing any crowd-funded project.
Images used with permission of Kosmo Foto.
