Svema

Svema
IndustryPhotography
Founded1931
HeadquartersShostka, Ukraine
ProductsPhotographic film, Photochemistry

Svema (Russian: Свема, Светочувствительные материалы, lit.'Light-sensitive Materials') was a major Soviet-era state-owned manufacturer of photographic film, magnetic tapes and cassettes, based in Shostka, Sumy Oblast, Ukraine. The manufacturing was started in 1931, at the time, in Ukrainian SSR, USSR. Svema had a registered trade mark and formerly was referred as "NPO Svema" of the Shostka Chemical Plant.

They made black-and-white photographic film, photographic paper, B&W motion picture film until 2010s, colour photographic and motion picture film until 1995 and magnetic tapes until 2014.[1] Svema products were known among enthusiasts as an easy and study product for beginners in home film development and printing.

The use of Svema color film was common for Soviet and post-Soviet cinema from the late 1960s until the late 1990s with some student works being shot on Svema up until 2010s.

Svema lost its market share in former Soviet Union countries to imported products during late 1990s when magnetic tapes were superseded by compact discs. The enterprise went bankrupt in 2015 and its main buildings were demolished in 2019.[2][3]

  1. ^ Kronke, Claus: "'Finished!' The Decline of the Svema Film Works", "Smallformat", 01 2007
  2. ^ "«Свему» признали банкротом". Капитал (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-02-16.
  3. ^ "Прощай, «Свема»! Легендарный завод сровняли с землей". KP.UA (in Russian). Retrieved 2023-02-16.