The analog photography community is witnessing an unprecedented surge in new film releases in 2025, marking what appears to be the most active year in recent memory for photographic film production. This remarkable uptick in film manufacturing comes as encouraging signs of recovery emerge from the challenging COVID-19 years that were marked by severe shortages and dramatic price increases across the analog photography market.

Notably absent from this year's releases are products from the two remaining giants of photographic film production, Eastman Kodak and Fujifilm, making the diversity of new offerings from smaller manufacturers and specialty brands all the more significant. The year has seen an impressive array of both color and black-and-white films from established companies like Harman Technology as well as completely new players entering the market.

Harman Technology has made significant strides with multiple releases, including Harman Red, available in both 35mm and 120 formats. This redscale film represents the first of two films based on the company's inaugural color emulsion, Phoenix 200. Nominally rated at ISO 125, Harman Red can be effectively used from ISO 100 up to 400, with the characteristic strong red and orange color casts created by exposing the emulsion through the film base. The company explains that the color cast intensity is strongest at lower ISO settings and gradually fades when shot at higher speeds. The 35mm version launched in February, followed by the 120 format in June.

The company's Phoenix II represents a substantial improvement over the original Phoenix 200 formula. Released in July in both 35mm and 120 formats, Phoenix II addresses many of the concerns with the original emulsion, offering vastly improved color palette and grain structure while taming the highlight halation effects that characterized its predecessor. This marks another significant step forward for Harman Technology, a company with nearly 150 years of film-making experience but only 18 months of color emulsion development.

Kentmere Pan 200 has emerged as a surprise addition to Harman's budget-conscious black-and-white film lineup. Available in 35mm, 120, and bulk formats, this new 200-ISO film joins the existing Pan 100 and Pan 400 offerings, creating a complete range that directly competes with Foma Bohemia's Fomapan series. Film processors have praised Pan 200 as potentially the standout film in the Kentmere range, delivering sharp, contrasty images that distinguish themselves from the traditionally grainier Fomapan alternatives.

Leica made headlines in June with the announcement of Monopan 50, marking the first time the legendary camera manufacturer has produced its own branded film. This ultra-fine grain, 50-ISO black-and-white film promises extraordinary sharpness and remarkable tonal value reproduction. The company emphasizes that the low light sensitivity, combined with fast M-lenses, enables wide aperture shooting even in bright conditions for the distinctive Leica bokeh effect. While Leica hasn't revealed a hidden film factory in Wetzlar, industry experts believe Monopan 50 is likely rebranded Adox HR-50 film, with some speculation that it might be a refined version of the Agfa-Gevaert Aviphot aviation film that HR-50 itself is based upon.

The color film market has seen particularly interesting developments with Original Wolfen NC200, though its release story is complicated. Initially developed by the revived German ORWO brand as an improvement over their muted NC400 and NC500 films, NC200 promises more lifelike colors but has encountered manufacturing issues with its anti-halation layer. Rather than delay the release, two European film brands have brought the flawed initial production runs to market under their own labels.

Optik Oldschool, a photographic lab in Düsseldorf, Germany, surprised the industry by releasing OptiColour 200 in both 35mm and 120 formats. This marks the first time a completely new player has entered the color film market, though they acknowledge that the film exhibits halation effects and occasional red and green dots due to the anti-halation layer issues. Similarly, KONO! released their Color 200 in June, which is also derived from the same problematic NC200 production run.

Spanish brand Dubblefilm continued their experimental approach with Stereo 400, a revamped version of their gradient color film. Unlike the original version that featured a red-to-blue transition across the entire roll, Stereo 400 creates the red and blue gradient effect across each individual frame, offering photographers a completely different creative tool.

China Lucky Film has made a notable return to color production after more than a decade away from the market. Their Lucky Color 200, first teased in 2023 and developed throughout this year, represents the company's re-entry into color negative film manufacturing. However, the release remains limited, with only 10,000 rolls produced for the Chinese market as the company continues to refine the emulsion.

One of the year's most innovative releases comes from Aperture Printing, a London-based film processing lab that has developed Euston 400, a black-and-white slide film. Built on Rollei 400S film stock, Euston 400 can be processed as a slide using proprietary chemistry developed by lab employee Alex Cole, producing crisp, contrasty black-and-white positive images. The lab plans to expand the range with additional films using clear bases.

This remarkable year of film releases signals a robust and creative analog photography market, with manufacturers and labs pushing boundaries in both traditional and experimental directions. The diversity of offerings, from ultra-fine grain black-and-white films to experimental color emulsions and innovative processing techniques, suggests that film photography's future remains bright and full of possibilities for creative expression.