Gardens of the Orient(1936)

Calcutta, Darjeeling & Bihar(en)

Rare amateur footage of East India.

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.

India on Film: 1899 – 1947(en)

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.

Rif 1921, una historia olvidada(es)

Manuel Horrillo has visited for 7 years the fields where the clashes between the Spanish troops and the rebels of the protectorate took place during the so-called Rif War, a forgotten war of the Spanish collective imaginary.

Six Years of Freedom(hi)

This documentary highlights the achievements of India in the political, economic, and international fields since she attained Independence. The framing of her Constitution, the integration of the States and the general elections, the rehabilitation of displaced persons, the river valley projects, and the setting up of a chain of National Laboratories are some of the achievements shown here.

From the Black Earth(en)

From the Black Earth is a collaboration between Bristol based company Cables and Cameras, and a local farmer Humphrey Lloyd. Employing both lucid speakers and poetic camera work, the film poses stark questions such as; why does food poverty exist in a nation of plenty, and why are people of colour so under represented not only in our countryside and farms, but in the environmental movement more broadly? By giving a platform to people of colour who are connecting with nature and working the land, this short documentary starts to unpick these questions...

Ask the Sexpert(en)

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.

The Moroccan Labyrinth(es)

The Quetta Earthquake(en)

Amateur footage of the devastation caused by one of South Asia's worst earthquakes.

Home Life(en)

Made by an English family living in north India during the heyday of the Raj, this amateur film reveals the grandeur in which middle-class English colonials lived.

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.

Imphal Bazaar(en)

A scenes from a tour of Manipur State and a women's bazaar in Imphal.

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.

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.

Old Barak(en)

Amateur film of fishing and geese-shooting trips by a British party in India.

Společně k cíli(cs)

Les 16 de Basse-Pointe(fr)

Delhi Durbar(en)

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

Indian Scene of Procession(en)

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