From England to India by Air (1917)

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.

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.

One Six Right

An exhilarating documentary film that celebrates the unsung hero of aviation - the local airport - by tracing the life, history, and struggles of an airport icon: Southern California's Van Nuys Airport. Featuring thrilling aerial photography and a sweeping original score, the film dispels common misconceptions and opposes criticism of General Aviation airports.

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.

State Entry into Delhi of Lord Curzon, the Viceroy

Film showing the Viceregal party entering Delhi on lavishly decorated elephants, as part of the Coronation durbar of 1903.

Day at St Christopher's College and School

Behind the scenes at a Chennai teachers training college.

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.

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.

Our King Emperor and Queen Empress Hold a Durbar in Delhi

King George V and Queen Mary hold ceremonial court in Delhi.

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...

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.

Ladakh

A stunning trek from the vale of Kashmir, via Sind Valley and Kargil and Lamayaru Monastry.

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.

Auroville: L'esquisse d'un monde

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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.

Delhi Durbar and Coronation

Jaw-dropping pomp and pageantry at the 1911 Delhi Durbar

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.

A Suitable Girl

A Suitable Girl follows three young women in India struggling to maintain their identities and follow their dreams amid intense pressure to get married. The film examines the women's complex relationship with marriage, family, and society.

Wheel of Time

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

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.

The Balloonist

Meet Brian Boland—the beloved, eccentric hot air balloonist and artist from the rural Upper Valley of Vermont.

India's Daughter

The story of the short life, and brutal gang rape and murder in Delhi in December 2012 of an exceptional and inspiring young woman. The rape of the 23 year old medical student by 6 men on a moving bus, and her death, sparked unprecedented protests and riots throughout India and led to the first glimmers of a change of mindset. Interwoven into the story line are the lives, values and mindsets of the rapists whom the film makers have had exclusive and unprecedented access to interview before they hang. The film examines the society and values which spawn such violent acts, and makes an optimistic and impassioned plea for change.

Kumbh Mela - The Greatest Show On Earth

February 2013, Allahabad, India. Over the next 55 days, nearly a hundred million people will come here, to the Great Kumbh Mela. This incredible and awe-inspiring celebration of the world's oldest religion happens every 12 years at the place where Hindus believe two sacred rivers meet. For many Hindus this is their most important pilgrimage, and it happens at one of the most holy sites in India. Hindus come to cleanse themselves in the sacred waters of the river Ganges, to pray and emerge purified and renewed. This follows British pilgrims as they embark on a once-in-a-lifetime spiritual journey. A journey that will take them into the heart of Hinduism - its philosophy, its beliefs and its traditions. A journey that will culminate in the largest ever gathering of humans in one place.

World's Biggest Festival - Kumbh Mela

Welcome to the largest human gathering ever in this one-hour special, World’s Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela. Imagine a crowd so massive, it is visible from space. A crowd, likely 100 million strong, intent on just one thing: bathing in a sacred river to wash away sins and gain a chance at a new beginning. In the World’s Biggest Festival: Kumbh Mela, experience the dazzling spectacle of spiritual fervour and collective diversity as Hindus from across the globe converge on the Maha Kumbh Mela. Not only is it the world’s largest religious festival, but it is also believed to be the largest gathering of humans in one place, at one time on Earth.

A Native Street in India

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

Purdah

The inspiring story of a young Indian Muslim woman who trades her burka for dreams of playing on the Mumbai Senior Women's Cricket Team and how the harsh realities for women in her country creates an unexpected outcome for her own family, ultimately shattering and fueling aspirations.

Jetman Dubai : Young Feathers

We mark a new milestone in the chapter of human flight. Join Jetman Yves Rossy and his protege, Jetman Vince Reffet as they explore the limits in the city of dreams. "The real dream is to be completely free"

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.

Sports in the Indian Army

A demonstration of sport and fitness by members of the Indian Army.

Wandering Tigers in North India

Tigers in the Himalayan foothills, filmed by famous hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett.

Home Life

Made by an English family living in north India during the heyday of the Raj, this amateur film reveals the grandeur in which middle-class English colonials lived.

An Eastern Market

Documentary detailing a farmer’s visit to the market in Rawalpindi.