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Explore archive films
See shorts and features, showing the best from the BFI, national and regional archives - including 120 years of Britain on film
What we're watching
Somerset & Dorset RailwaySomerset & Dorset Railway
Amateur film196219 minsSilent
Memories of smoke and steam fill this superb film about the Somerset & Dorset during its final years of operation - and watch out for some guest stars
Our Liverpool HomeOur Liverpool Home
Documentary197828 mins Location: Liverpool
All together now! 52 families living in run-down terraced houses in Liverpool form a housing co-op and modernise their homes.
Crooked HouseCrooked House
News19754 mins Location: Himley
The Staffordshire pub where the beer bottles roll uphill and the landlord claims, "You come in drunk and go out sober".
Seaham Bathing BellesSeaham Bathing Belles
Amateur film19634 minsSilent Location: Seaham
Making a splash with the breakfast club regulars of the Seaham Harbour Amateur Swimming Club.
Greek Dances at Latymer School, EdmontonGreek Dances at Latymer School, Edmonton
Amateur film19382 minsSilent Location: Edmonton
Enjoy this elegant exhibition of young dancing talent as it pays homage to Grecian dance tradition is spectacular fashion.
Life in Her HandsLife in Her Hands
Instructional film/TV programme195155 mins
Kathleen Byron - of Black Narcissus fame - stars in one of the most ambitious recruitment films ever made.
The NudistsThe Nudists
News19719 mins Location: Devon
Country House offers naturists a way to air all.
Lesbians (Gay Life)Lesbians (Gay Life)
198134 mins
Gay women from different generations discuss their experiences in this revealing TV documentary
Waverley StepsWaverley Steps
Documentary194831 mins Location: Edinburgh
Beautifully evocative impression of a Sunday in early postwar Edinburgh.
Holiday in Tenby 1953Holiday in Tenby 1953
Home movie195310 minsSilent Location: Tenby/Dinbych-y-pysgod
From Heywood in Lancashire to a farm near Tenby, Pembrokeshire, for a holiday filled with sandcastles and cattle, hiking and motorbikes.
Walsall MarketWalsall Market
News19736 mins Location: Walsall
The sights and sounds of Walsall Market
Saltash FestivalSaltash Festival
News19641 minsSilent Location: Saltash
A raft race and water fun enables visitors to keep up with the Saltashians.
Featured collections
Black Lives
Portraits of public and private lives against the shifting social climate of 20th century Britain.
Football on Film
Football and film: two giants of 20th century spectacle. Born just a few years apart, film and the professional game have grown up together, as this fascinating collection shows.
Queer Britain
This colourful and challenging collection explores screen representations of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender lives over the past century.