Free
Most Popular Free 2024
The most popular free films that caught your imagination in 2024.
We are told that the past is a foreign country: they do things differently there. Yet British life has a comforting and quirky evenness, as this selection of free-to-stream favourites surely proves.
The Pioneers of Nudism The Pioneers of Nudism
Amateur film 1938 27 mins Silent Location: Bricket Wood
If you go down to the woods today, you're sure of a big surprise...
Future Uncertain Future Uncertain
Amateur film 1968 8 mins Location: King's Lynn
A whistle-stop venture from Kings Lynn to Hunstanton via rail, in the company of Chib Thorp, amateur filmmaker and rail enthusiast from Leigh on Sea.
A Romany Summer A Romany Summer
Documentary 1977 43 mins Location: Yorkshire and the Humber
With their battered vardo, scruffy kids and assorted horses in tow, Cocker and Ellie are on an “endless odyssey”, visiting Appleby Fair, trying to eke out their own chosen life.
Apaches Apaches
Documentary 1977 27 mins
One of the most disturbing public safety films depicts six children being picked off one-by-one by deadly farming machinery.
Wires over the Border Wires over the Border
Industry sponsored film 1974 18 mins
An account, in human and non-technical terms, of the electrification of the West Coast main line railway from Crewe to Glasgow
Life Apart: Anxieties in a Trawling Community Life Apart: Anxieties in a Trawling Community
Documentary 1973 62 mins Location: Fleetwood
Unforgettably superb documentary on the work and life, onshore and off, of the trawlermen of Fleetwood, Lancashire.
John Betjeman Goes by Train: King's Lynn to Hunstanton John Betjeman Goes by Train: King's Lynn to Hunstanton
Travelogue 1962 10 mins
John Betjeman revels in the pleasures of travelling along the small branch line from King's Lynn to Hunstanton.
The Volunteer The Volunteer
Government sponsored film 1944 42 mins Location: Denham
Entertaining and evocative Fleet Air Arm drama-doc propaganda piece, written and directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
Hedd Wyn Hedd Wyn
War 1992 115 mins Location: Trawsfynydd
The stirring story of poet Ellis Evans-Hedd Wyn, the Welsh poet posthumously awarded the Eisteddfod chair at Birkenhead in 1917 after failing to return from 1st World War trenches.
Madeley Before Redevelopment Madeley Before Redevelopment
Promotional 1967 8 mins Silent Location: Madeley
Views of historic Madeley in Shropshire during the winter of 1967, as the spectre of a new town looms.
Durham Carpets Durham Carpets
Documentary 1978 24 mins Location: Durham
The warp, the weft, and a good old yarn! Hugh Mackays display an explosion of colourful 1970s carpet designs in Durham.
Last of the Lion Brand Last of the Lion Brand
Documentary 1979 8 mins Location: Ashton-Under-Lyne
A tale of donkeys and doorsteps, and the passing of a northern tradition.
Great London Flood Disaster Great London Flood Disaster
Non-Fiction 1928 1 mins Silent Location: London
Yachts in the streets and masterpieces on the move in Pimlico in this dramatic footage of the aftermath of major flooding in London.
Petworth, Midhurst & Petersfield Line Petworth, Midhurst & Petersfield Line
Amateur film 1955 21 mins Silent Location: West Sussex
The twenty miles of rural railway that once lay between Pulborough and Petersfield is wonderfully immortalised in this film from the mid-fifties
Victorian Fair - Holywell, 1984 Victorian Fair - Holywell, 1984
Home movie 1984 4 mins Silent Location: Holywell/Treffynnon
The people of Holywell become Victorian ladies and gents for a day and mind the rolling barrels!
Fiona Richmond at her Pleasure Fiona Richmond at her Pleasure
News 1970 9 mins Location: Plymouth
Fiona Richmond is interviewed about her Men Only column and attitudes towards sex.
Grand Central Hotel - Belfast Grand Central Hotel - Belfast
Documentary 1972 29 mins Location: Belfast
A poignant documentary tracing the fate of one of Belfast's most iconic establishments and the uncertain future facing its employees.
Scenes from Village Life Scenes from Village Life
Amateur film 1948 18 mins Location: Burghclere
This epic and wistful record of Yesterday's Britain shows rural life in the villages of Highclere and Burghclere just after the war
Yellow Yellow
Drama 2023 13 mins
In Taliban controlled Afghanistan, Laili walks into a Chadari store in Kabul to buy her first full body veil from a Talib shopkeeper and face a new future.
Great North of Scotland Railway Films Great North of Scotland Railway Films
Amateur film 1963 26 mins Silent Location: Aberdeen
Train enthusiast David Gordon, Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, films a stunning array of steam engines as they whistle through the colourful Scottish countryside in the 1960s.
The Children of Eskdale The Children of Eskdale
Documentary 1973 55 mins Location: Whitby
Five siblings run free over fields, feed the farm animals, pine for a pony or spotty dog, and a school dance exactly illustrates the difference between girls and boys.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.