Watch thousands of unseen British films released by the BFI
For decades now, Brits have been shooting amateur movies about their holidays, personal celebrations and experiences at huge, historic events. They're valuable snippets of UK history, but often they're never seen by the wider public. Today, the British Film Institute (BFI) is launching a project called "Britain on Film," which offers free online access to thousands of archived videos. Some were shot by amateurs, while others, such as this tour of Edinburgh by Sean Connery, were commissioned for professional projects. Roughly 2,500 film and TV titles are being released today, with 90 percent of them being free to watch. Many have never been seen before, or not since their first showing, and reveal unique, personal perspectives of how British life has changed over the years.
To support the initiative, BFI will be holding 85 screening events in 46 locations, from Belfast to Canterbury. Highlights of specific cities will also be shown on large screens in town centres and Caffe Nero has agreed to set up 10 special viewing pods in some of their coffee shops. If you're wondering where to start, BFI has built a handy search engine that lets you look up clips from specific locations. Maybe give your hometown a try?
