Tiharu

Ask the Sexpert

2017

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.

Trip to Manipur

1935

Amateur film of a road trip through northeastern India, showing traditional dances and a gigantic flower float.

My Enemy, My Brother

2017

The eight-year Iran-Iraq War was one of the most brutal conflicts to devastate the region in the 20th century. Zahed was 13 years old when he enrolled in the Iranian army. Najah was 18 when he was conscripted into the Iraqi army, and he fought against Zahed in the Battle of Khorramshahr. Fast forward 25 years, a chance encounter in Vancouver between these two former enemies turns into a deep and mutually supportive friendship. Expanded from the 2015 short film by the same name.

Machines

2017

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.

Rromani Soul

2008

RROMANI SOUL traces the true origin of the Rroma people. Through rituals, song and dance we follow emblematic figure and "Queen of the Gypsies" Esma Redzepova to Macedonia, south of France and finally to India. The film reveals for the first time ever that the true and unique origin of the Rroma is Kannauj in Uttar Pradesh, India.

The Incomplete

2013

“Can you describe yourself?” “Odenwald-Gay... or Gollum... or Klaus! 60 years old... gay... slave!” A documentary portrait of Klaus Johannes Wolf, who decided to live as a slave. Chained to his bed, he talks about his decision to be a slave, his parents and what it means to be naked. Finally he leaves everything behind to go to a slave camp, to put the finishing touches on his slave’s life and become the perfect servant.

The Sufi and the Scientist

2006

The Sufi and the Scientist is the collective story of Sufi healer Sayyid Arif Hussain, the medieval Sufi Sheikh Haji Ali, and Dr. Thornton Streeter, a scientist working in the realm of human consciousness.

Vetal Nagri

2018

In India, in the region of Gujarat, a man whose face is never shown travels through the large city of Vadodara by night and distributes a mysterious illustrated newspaper. It provokes an irresistable desire in all the street merchants and craftsmen to tell stories of ghosts and ghouls.

It's a Beautiful World

2014

Richard Beymer first met David Lynch when Lynch cast him as Ben Horne in the series Twin Peaks. Years later, Lynch saw one of Richard's documentaries on the founder of Transcendental Meditation, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, and asked him to come to India to document a journey he was making tracing Maharishi's footsteps from one end of India to the other. This film is not just a record of their 10-day journey, it's also a rare and personal look at David Lynch "unplugged."

An Eastern Market

1928

Documentary detailing a farmer’s visit to the market in Rawalpindi.

Les Pirates du vivant

2005

The Quetta Earthquake

1935

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

Madras Mylapore - Tank and Religious Processions

1932

The thronging streets of Chennai in festive mood are captured by this lively amateur film.

Sports in the Indian Army

1910

A demonstration of sport and fitness by members of the Indian Army.

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.