Indian Elephants in the Service of Man(1938)

The Way Back(en)

The Year of Return is an initiative of the government of Ghana that is intended to encourage African diasporans to come to Africa to settle and invest in the continent. This film documents one diasporan family as they return to Africa.

Phoolan(en)

Phoolan is a documentary film about the extraordinary life of a village girl, gang-rape survivor, bandit leader, and finally parliamentarian. This is the story of one woman’s fight against incredible odds for justice and dignity. Known as India’s Bandit Queen, Phoolan Devi is considered by many to be one of the most extraordinary and controversial women of our time.

Indian Youth: An Exploration(en)

A documentary on the life of the youth in post-Independence India.

Nehru(en)

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.

A Suitable Girl(en)

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.

An Indian Day(en)

Director S. Sukhdev traveled the length of India to gather footage for his impressionistic portrait of the country in the year 1967. The film produces the same effect on the viewers as a month-long visit to India, a sense of having seen everything and a sense of having seen nothing, both at the same time.

The Last Wilderness(en)

Archery expert Howard Hill and a cameraman go to Wyoming to film this wild-animal three-reel short. Besides the scenery, the scenes include a buffalo killed by an arrow shot by Hill (for food); a wildcat and a coyote in a battle, and a fight-to-the-death between a mother bear protecting her cubs against a killer male bear.

Mai(mr)

As the months pass through her, Mai gives us a glimpse into old age that explores between being abandoned and being belonged, passing the time and living the time.

The Hunters(en)

An ethnographic film that documents the efforts of four !Kung men (also known as Ju/'hoansi or Bushmen) to hunt a giraffe in the Kalahari Desert of Namibia. The footage was shot by John Marshall during a Smithsonian-Harvard Peabody sponsored expedition in 1952–53. In addition to the giraffe hunt, the film shows other aspects of !Kung life at that time, including family relationships, socializing and storytelling, and the hard work of gathering plant foods and hunting for small game.

Fascinating India(de)

"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.

Herzschlag der Kontinente(fr)

Benares Chungking Ichang(en)

Arresting early film images of both northern India and central and south western China.

Aka and Daffla Dances(en)

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

Our Greatest Ambassador(en)

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

From England to India by Air(en)

A state welcome for a Handley Page aircraft arriving in Kolkata.

Natsik Hunting(en)

Mosha Michael made an assured directorial debut with this seven-minute short, a relaxed, narration-free depiction of an Inuk seal hunt. Having participated in a 1974 Super 8 workshop in Frobisher Bay, Michael shot and edited the film himself. His voice can be heard on the appealing guitar-based soundtrack…. Natsik Hunting is believed to be Canada’s first Inuk-directed film. – NFB

Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Calcutta and Delhi(en)

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

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

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

Indian Scene of Procession(en)

Stately scenes in India, likely filmed during the 1903 Delhi Durbar.

Procession of Elephants with Howdahs - India(en)

An elephantine spectacle, likely part of the celebrations for the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India.