Wonderful Temples of India (1916)

The Power of Utopia: Living with Le Corbusier in Chandigarh

With the construction of the Indian planned city of Chandigarh, the Swiss and French architect Le Corbusier completed his life's work 70 years ago. Chandigarh is a controversial synthesis of the arts, a bold utopia of modernity. The film accompanies four cultural workers who live in the planned city and reflects on Le Corbusier's legacy, utopian urban ideas and the cultural differences between East and West in an atmospherically dense narrative.

Mind of Clay

In a poetic hour and a half, director Mani Kaul looks at the ancient art of making pottery from a wide variety of perspectives.

Machines

This portrayal of the rhythm of life and work in a gigantic textile factory in Gujarat, India, moves through the corridors and bowels of the enormously disorienting structure—taking the viewer on a journey of dehumanizing physical labor and intense hardship.

Arrival of the Earl of Lytton at Calcutta

Lord Lytton takes up the post of Governor of Bengal.

Wild Karnataka

An unprecedented UHD film on Karnataka's rich biodiversity narrated by David Attenborough. Portraying the state with highest number of tigers and elephants using the latest technology - a masterpiece showcasing the state, its flora, fauna.

A Road in India

Life on the road in India, showing the traffic, people and animals.

Temples of India

Hindu temples at Benares and Belur and the mythologies associated with them.

A Native Street in India

Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.

Le Beurre : Du bonheur en motte ?

Plot unavailable

Ask the Sexpert

A sex columnist gains popularity even while a ban on comprehensive sex education in schools is adopted by approximately a third of India’s states.

The Search for the Meaning

"The Search for the Meaning" is a collective experience, carried out with the audiovisual contribution of countless people who record their testimonies and spiritual experiences in 19 countries, to show a new spirituality that is being born...

Delhi Durbar and Coronation

Jaw-dropping pomp and pageantry at the 1911 Delhi Durbar

Nehru

Divided into three parts — The Awakening, The Struggle, and Freedom — this is a biographical film on Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, the first Prime Minister of independent India. Relying on Nehru's writings and speeches, the film traces the evolution of Nehru from his birth through his life. It also deals with the effect of history on Nehru and in turn his impact on the world.

India on Film: 1899 – 1947

As part of the 2017 UK-India Year of Culture, the British Council and British Film Institute share a unique collection of films documenting the sights and culture of a bygone India. Filmed between 1899-1947, and preserved in the BFI National Archive since then, these rare films capture many glimpses of life in India, from dances and markets, to hunts and pageantry.

Dams: The Lethal Water Bombs

Documentary short about the disastrous dangers of aging, ailing dams.

By the River

Varanasi is the Indian city where Hindus go to die. Stretching along the Ganges, Varanasi holds great spiritual significance because Hindu scriptutres say that anyone who dies there will attain moksha—liberation from the cycle of rebirth. Berlin-based director Dan Braga Ulvestad captures life and death in India’s heartland in this moving documentary filled with exquisite cinematic moments. By the River starts its narrative journey with the city’s “death hotels,” dedicated apartments where people wait to die, sometimes for decades, so they can be cremated on the banks of the Ganges.

Randolph Bezzant Holmes India Films

Military occasions around India and Pakistan, featuring the Khyber Pass, Srinagar, Rawalpindi and Peshawar.

The Quetta Earthquake

Amateur footage of the devastation caused by one of South Asia's worst earthquakes.

Boys' Home in Ahmednagar

What’s the hidden message inside this intriguing film, shot at a Salvation Army establishment in western India?

A Sword Dance Performed before the King and Queen in India

Jaw-dropping acrobatics for royal visitors.

Calcutta Topical No. 2

The race is on - for the Viceroy's Cup.

A Rifle and a Bag

Somi is pregnant with her second child. A girl, she hopes. Together with her husband she prepares for this new phase of their parenthood. It means that their son has to go to school, but as an ex-Naxalite that is tough to achieve in contemporary India, where people like them are third-rate citizens. They lack the certificates and an opaque bureaucratic process doesn't help. Directors Isabella Rinaldi, Cristina Hanes and Arya Rothe of the NoCut Film Collective concentrate on Somi's close family ties, painting a portrait of ex-Naxalites in India. Once, Somi and her husband were communist rebels fighting for the rights of Indian tribes. However, to safeguard their family's welfare, they surrendered to the government in exchange for marginal compensation and simple accommodation.

Wheel of Time

Wheel of Time is Werner Herzog's photographed look at the largest Buddhist ritual in Bodh Gaya, India.

Indian Elephants in the Service of Man

Indian elephants in action as working animals and in hunting.

Delhi, Great Capital of India

Rare stencil-coloured images of early 20th century Delhi during a Muslim festival.

Delhi to the North West Frontier

Amateur film featuring government buildings in Delhi, a shooting party in Malakand and winter in Abbottabad.

Lahore

Muharram procession through Lahore bazaar, crowded streets and buildings.

Chief Guide at Hyderabad Rally

Girl guides on parade at a rally in southern India attended by Olave Baden-Powell.

Ajmer

Film of local events in Ajmer province including the fair at Pushkar.

Gangtok and Sikkim Trip

Amateur footage of a trip into the Himalaya.

Kashmir

An astonishing English tourist’s view of street life in pre-partition Srinagar and Kashmir.

Imphal Bazaar

A scenes from a tour of Manipur State and a women's bazaar in Imphal.

Old Barak

Amateur film of fishing and geese-shooting trips by a British party in India.

Pindi Events

Life in the bustling Punjabi city of Rawalpindi before partition.

Local Scenes in India and the Taj Mahal

This travelogue takes in some of the most important landmarks of Islamic power in India.

Land of the Elephants

The timber trade calls on animal help.

A Fishing Party With the Maharajah of Kapurthala, India

The Maharajah of Kapurthala and guests travel on elephants and men catch fish on the River Bias.

From England to India by Air

A state welcome for a Handley Page aircraft arriving in Kolkata.

Her Excellency Lady Lytton At The Victoria Memorial

Lady Pamela Lytton, wife of the Governor of Bengal, visits the grand marble Victoria Memorial in Calcutta.

Delhi Durbar

Aristocracy, army, elephants and more mark the start of the 1903 Durbar.

Indian Scene of Procession

Stately scenes in India, likely filmed during the 1903 Delhi Durbar.