Calcutta Topical No. 1 (1925)

Arrival of the Earl of Lytton at Calcutta

Lord Lytton takes up the post of Governor of Bengal.

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.

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.

Day at St Christopher's College and School

Behind the scenes at a Chennai teachers training college.

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.

Fascinating India

"Fascinating India" spreads an impressive panorama of India’s historical and contemporary world. The film presents the most important cities, royal residences and temple precincts. It follows the trail of different religious denominations, which have influenced India up to the present day. Simon Busch and Alexander Sass travelled for months through the north of the Indian subcontinent to discover what is hidden under India’s exotic and enigmatic surface, and to show what is rarely revealed to foreigners. The film deals with daily life in India. In Varanasi, people burn their dead to ashes. At the Kumbh Mela, the biggest religious gathering of the world, 35 million pilgrims bathe in holy River Ganges. This is the first time India is presented in such an alluring and engaging fashion on screen.

Writing with Fire

In a cluttered news landscape dominated by men, emerges India’s only newspaper run by Dalit women. Armed with smartphones, Chief Reporter Meera and her journalists break traditions on the frontlines of India’s biggest issues and within the confines of their own homes, redefining what it means to be powerful.

A Punjab Village

Richly detailed amateur ethnographic film on the agrarian economy and society in rural Punjab.

Top Gear: India Special

The gang embarks on a trade mission to India. Equipped with three old British cars and a range of uniquely British products, they set off on an epic road trip across one of the world's most fascinating and challenging countries.

Born Into Brothels: Calcutta's Red Light Kids

Documentary depicting the lives of child prostitutes in the red light district of Songachi, Calcutta. Director Zana Briski went to photograph the prostitutes when she met and became friends with their children. Briski began giving photography lessons to the children and became aware that their photography might be a way for them to lead better lives.

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.

One Ticket Please

A documentary about a 78-year-old Indian woman in New York who is the world's most passionate theatergoer. Nicki Cochrane has been seeing a play every day for more than 25 years, acquiring free tickets using a variety of ingenious means.

Longing

Against the backdrop of Partition, independent India’s first hockey team defeats England, their erstwhile coloniser, to win the Gold at the 1948 London Olympics. Six decades later, when Nandy Singh, a member of this iconic team suffers a stroke, his tenacious struggle to recover, inspires his daughter to retrace his journey. Using archival footage and interviews with teammates, she reveals lives shaped by the Gold, and by Partition that made them refugees. Revealed also is a friend in Pakistan never spoken of before. Her journey in search of him morphs into a quest for the lost ‘watan’ (homeland).

Chelsea FC - Season Review 2006/07

The 2006/07 season has proved a rollercoaster ride for Chelsea FC and its fans but once again the club emerged triumphant with two more cups to add to the trophy cabinet and many more wonderful memories to savour. For the majority of the season, José Mourinho and his players battled to achieve what no other team had managed in the history of English football - the quadruple! Eventually injuries, which had dogged the side throughout the campaign, and fatigue caught up with them and they had to settle for a cracking double with victory in the Carling Cup and FA Cup. The Blues defeated their arch-rivals Manchester United with a dramatic victory in the first FA Cup at the new Wembley Stadium to complete José Mourinho's collection of medals in English football. This programme is packed with the action, drama and goals from this incredible 2006/07 season. Relive all these wonderful moments time and time again.

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.

Chelsea FC - Season Review 2016/17

38 games, 30 wins. Record-breaking Chelsea are the kings of English football once again, Premier League champions for a fifth time. Masterminded by Italian genius Antonio Conte, who wore his heart on his sleeve, kicking every ball, making every tackle and celebrating every goal, the Blues have been reshaped into a formidable force. And the Bridge waved goodbye to a legend. John Terry's emotional farewell brought the curtain down on a fantastic career and a sensational season.

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.

The Derby

A momentous act of self sacrifice is caught on camera - Emily Davison is trampled by the King's horse at the 1913 Epsom Derby.

Delhi Durbar and Coronation

Jaw-dropping pomp and pageantry at the 1911 Delhi Durbar

Chelsea FC - Season Review 2014/15

The most dominant team in Premier League history. That's what the stats say as Chelsea stormed to their fifth title with a record-breaking run in pole position. Manager, José Mourinho assembled a squad that combined devastating attacking invention with ruthless determination in defence. Irresistible force and immovable object. Among the highlights of a memorable campaign were the genius of Eden Hazard and the flair of Oscar and Willian complemented by the driving force up front of Diego Costa and the midfield mastery of Cesc Fàbregas. Nemanja Matic, a colossus in front of the best defence in the country, led by the indomitable skipper, John Terry, whose consistently outstanding performances have rolled back the years. Ten years on from José's first incredible season in charge, the Blues replicated that double triumph by also capturing the Capital One Cup at Wembley against London rivals Tottenham Hotspur. The foundations have been well and truly re-laid.

Wheel of Time

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

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.

Maya, la tigresse du Maharashtra

Plot unavailable

Dark Horse

The larger than life true story of how a barmaid in a poor Welsh mining village convinces some of her fellow residents to pool their resources to compete in the "sport of kings" with a racehorse they would breed and raise.

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.