India on Film: 1899 – 1947(2017)
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.
Movie: India on Film: 1899 – 1947
Video Trailer India on Film: 1899 – 1947
Similar Movies
A City at Chandigarh(fr)
Documentary on the construction of Chandigarh, the new capital of the Indian Punjab region, planned by Albert Mayer and Swiss architect Le Corbusier.
Aśoka(hi)
A young Prince Asoka works to perfect his skills in battle and also deals with family conflict. During a struggle with one of his step-brothers, his mother urges Asoka to escape to stay alive. While away, Asoka meets Kaurwaki and falls in love, but must use his skills as a warrior to protect her. A dangerous and heartbreaking web of conspiracy follows, which leads Asoka to embrace a Buddhist path.
Les dents de la mer: Un succès monstre(fr)
In the summer of 1975, the young director Steven Spielberg set new standards for cinema worldwide with an oversized shark bite, a plastic shark fin and an unmistakable two-note main theme composed by John Williams. With the horror from the deep, a man-eating, gigantic great white shark, the film of the same name became a similarly traumatic reference as Alfred Hitchcock's "Psycho": it triggered lasting primal fears across generations. On the beaches of the world, there was clearly a "before" and an "after". Steven Spielberg, who was only 28 at the time, not only set new standards for the thriller genre, but also hid his biting criticism of US capitalism in the 1970s behind it.
Reclaiming the Night(en)
In the aftermath of war, an extraordinary professor brings hope to children haunted by trauma-induced nightmares.
Voices of Hope(en)
This British documentary looks at 40 years of the London Community Gospel Choir, focusing on co-founder Bazil Meade who travelled to the United Kingdom from Montserrat as a boy.
Edward Prince of Wales' Tour of India: Indore, Bhopal, Gwalior and Delhi(en)
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(en)
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(en)
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(en)
The future Edward VIII enjoys stunning mountain scenery on a visit to the Khyber Pass during his royal tour
Khyber Pass; Kashmir; Agra(en)
Romantic, atmospheric travelogue capturing some of northern India’s most iconic places – not least the Taj Mahal.
Dancers at Trivandrum Gopinath(en)
Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath.
Bring Out a Briton(en)
‘Bring Out a Briton’ was a short appeal for Australians to help the Immigration Department in its plan to form and assist a ‘Bring Out a Briton’ Committee in each district. It featured popular Australian actor Chips Rafferty as the spokesman for the campaign. Aimed at the Australian public rather than the prospective immigrants it was designed to allay a perceived anxiety amongst the public about non-British European migration.
India Cabaret(hi)
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.
An immersion into the Divine Feminine(en)
By drawing a parallel between the Indian Durga Puja festival and other forms of celebrating the divine feminine, Santa Shakti reveals the Sacred Power beyond languages and religions.
Calcutta Pageant(en)
Scenes from a lavish pageant held during the royal visit to India, celebrating King George V’s coronation.
By the River(en)
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.
Cinecittà, de Mussolini à la Dolce Vita(fr)
Cinecitta is today known as the center of the Italian film industry. But there is a dark past. The film city was solemnly inaugurated in 1937 by Mussolini. Here, propaganda films would be produced to strengthen the dictator's position.