The future Edward VIII opens a durbar and enjoys a day at the races before inspecting the fire brigade in Calcutta.
You Have Struck A Rock! commemorates the special contribution of South African women to the success of the anti-apartheid struggle. It recovers the remarkable "women's campaigns" of the 1950s against the hated pass system. This massive, non-violent civil disobedience movement was only finally crushed by the 1960 Sharpeville Massacre and the banning of anti-apartheid organizations. Lilian Ngoyi, Helen Joseph, Dora Tamana and other leaders recall this struggle and their imprisonment and banning. Yet they remain undaunted, demonstrating the South African proverb: "When you have touched a woman, you have struck a rock."
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.
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.
Lord Louis Mountbatten arrives in India in March 1947 as Britain's Last Viceroy. He is committed to transfer administrative and authoritative power to an independent and sovereign India. Six months later India indeed was set free, but it had also been partitioned and overwhelmed by an orgy of sectarian violence involving Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs.
A documentary about Lithuania's secret special task force, which operated in 1991.
From dawn till dusk in the bohemian heart of London’s West End. This 1979 portrait of the people and places of Soho catches the neighbourhood towards the end of an era. There's some great footage inside an Italian delicatessen and of assorted street characters. It's a fascinating glimpse into this walled garden of cosmopolitan life on the cusp of the gentrification and commercial interests that have since broken its borders.
The 2008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony was held at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest. It began at 8:00 p.m. China Standard Time (UTC+8) on August 8, 2008, as 8 is considered to be a lucky number in Chinese culture. Featuring more than 15,000 performers, the ceremony lasted over four hours and cost over $100 million USD to produce.
DETECTION. Consideration of past, present and future of a small village in Germany. For over a century — wars and states went by — the military is the largest employer. The everyday life of the community is inextricably linked to the events on the nearby military training area. Diaries, daily instructions, petitions, letters and photos tell about daily life at different times.
Lorraine Kelly returns to the small Scottish border town of Lockerbie to find out how the residents coped with the aftermath of Europe's deadliest terror attack. Lorraine was one of the first TV reporters to arrive at the scene after Pan Am Flight 103 exploded mid-air, killing all 259 people aboard and 11 on the ground. Before the police cordoned off the area, she saw first-hand the shocking aftermath of the disaster.
In the early morning of February 3, 1979, a giant black triangular object flew over Soesterberg Air Base. At least twelve soldiers witnessed this bizarre spectacle.
This intriguing and beautifully-shot newsreel features sea-faring heroes, feisty females and a generous lick of paint for a Mississippi steamship.
A film about the fearless photographers and photojournalists who documented strikes, demonstrations, protests etc during the Chilean military regime of Augusto Pinochet, sometimes risking their very lives.
Contemporary life in Plymouth in the 1960s – plus some history.
Documentary about the Holy Angels Residential School in Alberta, where hundreds of First Nations children were imprisoned.
An essay film that interweaves meditations on travels with stories of journeys in China across a century: A student expedition into the heart of China in the 1930s, a young traveler's visions of the melancholic landscapes of his homeland, the narratives of movements in early Chinese silent films. Through these fragments of travelogues, the film explores the nature of consciousness in motion and what it means to use archives, images, and cinema as documentations as well as vehicles for travel.
This FitzPatrick Traveltalk series short looks at Czechoslovakia before World War II, including images of bridges, churches, and castles in Prague, also a non-military parade through the city.
This Traveltalk series short takes a look at Cairo's landmarks, people, and culture.
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.