Where to Find & Buy 35 or 120 film in Sri Lanka (2023)
In this guide, I’ll share some tips for buying and sourcing analog film in Sri Lanka.
Via Local Camera Shops
Film is not widely available in most local camera shops, but there are a couple of places where you can still buy film. Usually, they have Ilford and Kodak stocks, and sometimes you can find Lomography films. However, I have yet to find any Cinestill films in Sri Lanka.
Unfortunately, the cost of the films is about twice the actual price due to shipping and duties. We cannot blame these shops, as they are also selling for a profit but are not proper agents.
Here are some places to consider:
Bring Films When You are Flying
If you are a foreigner who’s coming to Sri Lanka for a holiday, you might be better off carrying some films with you. You might fear about airport X-rays, but fear no more. Recently I travelled with some Kodak & Ilford films across seven airport scanners in a period of 1 month & there was no issues at all.
They were 400 ISO films or below that. I take them inside the carry-in bag but never notify the security staff about films.
Importing Films from Online Websites
Buying films online and shipping them to Sri Lanka can sometimes be cheaper than buying them locally. However, duties and taxes are not consistent when importing films, so it may or may not be worth it. Here are some methods I personally recommend and have used:
- Amazon — It offers a global shipping option, which means they take care of the shipping and duties in advance. This allows you to know the full cost of your purchase upfront.
- B&H — They offer a reasonable shipping price for DHL, but usually, you have to pay about 40%-60% for taxes and duties. There’s also a FedEx delivery option which costs more, but sometimes you may pay less tax when using them.
- eBay — They usually ship via either EMS or FedEx. If it’s EMS, it’s routed via SL post. Sometimes, you won’t have to pay anything for duties. But other times, you might have to visit the central postal hub in Colombo to get it cleared, in which case, you have to pay duty and taxes.
- Film Photography Project — They offer reasonable pricing and usually ship via USPS, which is handled by SL Post. If the package is small, there’s a better chance that you won’t need to pay duties and taxes.
- TAH USA — They have Kodak motion picture films on a budget. Shipping fees are also cheaper. You could also avoid duties if you import in small quantities.
Analog Dreamz
We do not sell any well-known films. Instead, we buy films in bulk and re-spool them in-house. Typically, we offer Kodak Vision3 and Pan 100 films.
Our aim is to provide good quality films at an affordable price.
For more information, please visit our website.
There may be other ways to source films in Sri Lanka. If you know of any, please leave a comment and let us know.
