From England to India by Air (1917)

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.

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.

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.

Arrival of the Earl of Lytton at Calcutta

Lord Lytton takes up the post of Governor of Bengal.

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.

Winged Migration

This documentary follows various migratory bird species on their long journeys from their summer homes to the equator and back, covering thousands of miles and navigating by the stars. These arduous treks are crucial for survival, seeking hospitable climates and food sources. Birds face numerous challenges, including crossing oceans and evading predators, illness, and injury. Although migrations are undertaken as a community, birds disperse into family units once they reach their destinations, and every continent is affected by these migrations, hosting migratory bird species at least part of the year.

The Balloonist

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

The Magic of Flight

Take a technological thrill ride The Magic of Flight takes you on a technological thrill ride faster, higher and wider than modern science or even your imagination! Relive the first flight of the Wright Brothers, then soar with the Blue Angels as they defy the laws of gravity. Narrated by Tom Selleck.

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.

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.

Auroville: L'esquisse d'un monde

Plot unavailable

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.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Delhi

The future Edward VIII enjoys a stately procession and visits the Taj Mahal before meeting senior Indian royalty.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Bombay, Poona, Baroda, Jodhpur and Bikaner

The future Edward VIII visits his Empire, with Indian royalty, elephants, palaces and temples.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Bikaner, Lucknow, Benares, Nepal and Great Tiger Shoot

The future Edward VIII enjoys receptions, playing polo and hunting tigers on his royal tour.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Peshawar, The Khyber Pass and Rawl Pindi

The future Edward VIII enjoys stunning mountain scenery on a visit to the Khyber Pass during his royal tour

Delhi Durbar

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

Khyber Pass; Kashmir; Agra

Romantic, atmospheric travelogue capturing some of northern India’s most iconic places – not least the Taj Mahal.

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.

Duke of Connaught's Indian Tour

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

Native Life in Bundi

Amateur film showing daily life in Bundi, India.

Wheel of Time

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

The Wright Stuff

On August 8, 1908, at a racetrack outside Paris, Wilbur Wright executed what was, for him, a routine flight: a smooth take-off banking into a couple of tight circles, ending in a perfect landing. The flight took less than two minutes, but it left spectators awestruck. While the combined talents of Wilbur and Orville Wright had produced the first plane capable of controlled flight , their distrust of others had almost cost them the credit for their invention. Now, having proved to the public that they had mastered the sky, the reserved brothers from the small town of Dayton, Ohio, became world celebrities.

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.

Millions Can Walk

Hundreds of thousands of Indian men and women – indigenous inhabitants and landless farmers – demand their right to existence by making a 400 kilometre protest march from Gwalior to Delhi. How can one fight for one’s rights without using violence? With such an important contemporary question, the film spreads far beyond the borders of India. It shows the multiple facets of this imposing protest march and focuses as well on the daily realities of these proud people.

A Native Street in India

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

Meru

Meru is the electrifying story of three elite American climbers—Conrad Anker, Jimmy Chin, and Renan Ozturk—bent on achieving the impossible.

Jag Mandir: The Eccentric Private Theatre of the Maharaja of Udaipur

Jag Mandir is a quiet and often overlooked film in the vast oeuvre of Werner Herzog. Apparently, 20 hours of footage was shot that covered the whole fest and the film hardly presents us a twentieth of that. A native walking into the film in between may well fail to immediately realize that it is his country that is being shown and these are figures from the mythology of various sections of his nation. The bulk of the film consists of footage of an elaborate theatrical performance for the Maharana Arvind Singh Mewar at the City Palace of Udaipur, Rajasthan staged by André Heller.

Kolkata with Sue Perkins

Sue Perkins immerses herself in the complex life of Kolkata and sees how it is reinventing itself as a megacity with a reputation for eccentricity, culture and tolerance.

The Arms Drop

One night in December 1995, 4 tons of weapons fall from the sky over India. A few days later a Danish man returns to Denmark with a grave secret. Only when an English arms dealer is arrested in India and faces death sentence, does the Dane appear in the large-scale international investigation of the case. With reconstructions and scenes resembling a feature film, the docu-thriller The Arms Drop tells the nerve-racking story of two men who gamble their lives on a joint mission with each their secret agenda, and the political, personal and diplomatic consequences 20 years later.

Le Beurre : Du bonheur en motte ?

Plot unavailable

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.

If Not For You

A tribute film on Bob Dylan, depicting Calcutta's affinity with Dylan through cityscape and interviews of notable Indian musicians who were inspired by him. The film also draws parallels between Dylan's body of work and the Baul tradition of Bengal.

L'âme indienne Martiniquaise

Plot unavailable

Koodal

"Visionary post-war modernist Tyeb Mehta channels the nightmares of the nation in Koodal, at once the artist’s self-described “autobiography” and a profound meditation on collage, crowd control, cinematic subjectivity and the violence buried within every glorious act of foundation." -- Sarkari Shorts

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Madras, Bangalore, Mysore and Hyderabad

This official travelogue of a royal tour follows the Prince on a series of regimental displays and a tiger hunt.

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.

Aka and Daffla Dances

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

Uti

Snapshots of colonial life around Tamil Nadu, plus a visit to the Toda tribe.

Our Greatest Ambassador

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

Procession at Gangtok

Traditional games, dancing and music among the people of Sikkim - in vivid colour.

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Calcutta and Delhi

The future Edward VIII opens a durbar and enjoys a day at the races before inspecting the fire brigade in Calcutta.

Wonderful Temples of India

A Christian take on 'Edenless' India, where heathens are unafraid of snakes, and build 'interesting' temples to their gods.