Deposition and characterization of films of ZnS, EuS and ZnS:Eu are described. The films have been prepared by chemical vapor deposition using new volatile complex compounds, dithiocarbamates of Zn and Eu, as precursors. Characterization includes X-ray diffraction, chemical analysis of the film composition, Raman spectroscopy, ellipsometry, and spectrophotometry. The spatial chemical homogeneity of the films has been determined using a recently developed method of differential dissolution and found to be uniform. Doping of ZnS by Eu with dopant concentration up to 0.3 at.% has been achieved. Effects of Eu doping on structural and optical properties of the films are presented.