Ukhrul Medical Tour (1934)

The Way to the West

Hitchcock went the wrong way! Head south by southwest with this travelogue from Bath to Cornwall.

Pilgrim's Way

An epic ramble from Winchester to Canterbury, through Hampshire, Surrey and Kent with picnics, pints and much prettiness on the way.

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.

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 Endless Summer

Bruce Brown's The Endless Summer is one of the first and most influential surf movies of all time. The film documents American surfers Mike Hynson and Robert August as they travel the world during California’s winter (which, back in 1965 was off-season for surfing) in search of the perfect wave and ultimately, an endless summer.

Under the Pillow

Animated documentary which uses the voices and drawings of a group of children who live in a clinic in India. The guitar, the dances, a trip out to sea, the cats Sweety and Kitty, and the sisters who look after them are just some of the treasures and dreams which the children keep hidden under the pillow.

Sans Soleil

A woman narrates the thoughts of a world traveler, meditations on time and memory expressed in words and images from places as far-flung as Japan, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, and San Francisco.

Mediterranean Holiday

A 1962 West German documentary film directed by Hermann Leitner and Rudolf Nussgruber.

Canoe

Boys’ canoe trip on the Thames in London.

Procession of Elephants at Jaipur; Galta; Raj Mahal

Armoured elephants, sacred monkeys and a camel carriage from Rajasthan.

Devil Dancers of Sikkim

Hear the Lama band, see the sacred dances: welcome to Sikkim, in the shadow of the Himalayas.

Montreal and India

The Taj Mahal and shots of Jalandhar nestle between footage from Canada and Africa.

India

Amateur film of the passage to India - complete with guest appearance by Gandhi.

Native Life in Bundi

Amateur film showing daily life in Bundi, India.

Simla and Lahore

Evocative observational scenes of Simla and Lahore, including the gorgeous Shalimar Gardens and Anarkali Bazar.

Dancers at Trivandrum Gopinath

Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath.

5th Calcutta Battalion: Presentation of Colours by H.E. The Viceroy

The inauguration of a unit of the Indian Defence Force in Calcutta.

Mysore Dasara

The Mysore Palace shines with 100,000 lights in a dazzling 400-year-old celebration.

Government House Garden Party

Scenes at a garden party given by Earl Lytton, Governor of Bengal, at Government House, Calcutta.

Indian Wildlife Park

Accompany a couple on their visit to a local wildlife park.

Scenes at his Excellency the Viceroys's Garden Party at Belvedere

Indian high society enjoy themselves at a Calcutta garden party held to welcome the new Viceroy, Lord Irwin.

Delhi to the North West Frontier

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

Rajputana, Jhalawar, Bundi & Katakali Dancers

A trip to the spectacular city of Bundi and a Kathakali dance performance, filmed in vivid colour.

Benares Chungking Ichang

Arresting early film images of both northern India and central and south western China.

Aka and Daffla Dances

A stunning display by Nyishi tribesmen from the hills of Arunachal Pradesh, north-eastern India.

Our Greatest Ambassador

Richly detailed record of the Prince of Wales' Indian tour.

India Cabaret

A documentary exploring the "respectable" and "immoral" stereotypes of women in Indian society told from the point of view of 2 strip-tease dancers in a cabaret house in Bombay.

Arcadia

A provocative and poetic exploration of how the British people have seen their own land through more than a century of cinema. A hallucinated journey of immense beauty and brutality. A kaleidoscopic essay on how magic and madness have linked human beings to nature since the beginning of time.

Duke of Connaught's Indian Tour

The Duke rides an elephant as he ventures on safari in Bengal.

Imphal Bazaar

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

A Day in Tokyo

A Day in TOKYO in 1968, Nostalgic bygone era. Planned by Japan National Tourism Organization. Produced by Koga Production. This film was produced to explain Tokyo for foreign tourists.

Praise of the Distance

Province of Lugo, Galicia, Spain. A year in the life of A Fonsagrada, a rural region whose inhabitants live both near and far from urban civilization; a praise of the distance that crosses the four seasons of the year, whose inevitable passage transforms both the natural environment and the existence of people, a simple, dignified and peaceful existence.

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.

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.

Delhi Durbar

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