Our King Emperor and Queen Empress Hold a Durbar in Delhi (1912)

Day at St Christopher's College and School

Behind the scenes at a Chennai teachers training college.

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.

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.

Oprah with Meghan and Harry: A CBS Primetime Special

Winfrey speaks with Markle about everything from stepping into life as a Royal, marriage, motherhood, her philanthropic work and how she is handling life under intense public pressure. Later, the two are joined by Prince Harry as they speak about their move to the United States and their future hopes and dreams for their expanding family.

Elizabeth at 90: A Family Tribute

A unique celebration of the Queen's ninety years as she reaches her landmark birthday in April. Film-maker John Bridcut has been granted special access to the complete collection of Her Majesty's personal ciné films, shot by the Duke of Edinburgh and the Queen herself, as well as by King George VI and Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother. Much of it has never been seen publicly before. Various members of the Royal Family are filmed watching this private footage and contributing their own personal insights and their memories of the woman they know both as a member of their own close family and as queen. Among those taking part are the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, the Princess Royal, the Duke of Kent and his sister Princess Alexandra, who has never before given an interview.

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).

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.

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.

Delhi

Filmed in 1938, less than a decade before Indian independence, Delhi has a curious tale to tell. ‘Delhi’, the viewer is informed, ‘is the cockpit of the Indian Empire’, it provides the ‘gateway to the riches of the south’. The opening sections of the film focus upon those who have tried and failed to establish a lasting power in the capital. ‘At Delhi’, the commentator states, ‘successive cities have been built by conquering invaders – each has fallen into disuse and decay’. The camerawork focuses on the ‘impressive ruins’ of these earlier invaders. Although the film also depicts the enduring architecture of Muslim rulers, such as Akbar and Shahjahan, it is stressed that their power has been superseded. Legend has it that it will be the ninth city of Delhi that ‘will endure and will rule forever’. Shahjahan had built the eighth.

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.

A Road in India

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

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.

A Punjab Village

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

Temples of India

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

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.

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.

Diana: 7 Days That Shook the Windsors

This illuminating documentary examines the aftermath of Princess Diana's tragic death and the tense, dramatic week leading up to her funeral

Princess Alice: The Royals’ Greatest Secret

The life of Princess Alice of Battenberg, Queen Victoria's great-granddaughter, Prince Andrew of Greece's wife and Queen Elizabeth II's mother-in-law. Born deaf, she faced tremendous hardships but found solace in faith and charity work.

Delhi Durbar and Coronation

Jaw-dropping pomp and pageantry at the 1911 Delhi Durbar

Diana: In Her Own Words

Using home videos recorded by her voice coach, Diana takes us through the story of her life.

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.

Diana: Conspiracy Theories

With interviews and exclusive footage we delve into the conspiracy that has left the world wanting answers for years. This is Princess Diana...Conspiracy Theories.

Diana at Sixty

A new insight into Lady Diana's life, loves and looking at where she might be today. Loved the world over and became bigger than The Crown itself.

Secrets of the Royal Servants

In this documentary, former staff of members of the British Royal Family reveal the routines and duties that take place out of the public eye. Also, historian Kate Williams explores servant duties from ancient times.

Dams: The Lethal Water Bombs

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

Princess Diana: The Quiet Revolution

No one in history has ever been so universally adored as Diana, Princess of Wales. In her short life she captivated the world with her beauty, charm and limitless compassion. She challenged the century old tradition of stoic Royal silence and brought a Queen and her people closer than ever before. The legacy of the people’s princess still lives on two decades after her tragic and sudden death. It was her love of life, of people, of those less fortunate and of her children that saw her lead a quiet but powerful revolution that changed the British royal family, forever.

Picturesque India or, In and About Calcutta

Botanical gardens in Bombay plus the highly decorative Jain Temple in Calcutta.

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.

Prince Philip: A Lifetime of Duty

Prince Philip has walked two steps behind Her Royal Highness Queen Elizabeth ever since she became Queen in 1952. For many years before then and many years since he has been the supporting man, husband and father that the Royal Family has needed him to be.

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.

Maya, la tigresse du Maharashtra

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