This film is part of Free

Title of error

Cochin and Malarax

Amateur film capturing life and buildings in and around Kochi, in Kerala, south-west India.

Amateur film 1930 18 mins Silent

Watch for free

Overview

This well-travelled amateur film takes us in and around Kochi (also known as Cochin) in Kerala, in India's south west. The film begins its tour at the royal residence (originally built by Dutch traders in the mid-18th century) on Bolgatty (then Bolghotty) Island. Also on the tour are a visit to the villagers of Vypin (or Vypeen) island - and their elaborately-engineered sardine nets - a waterfront view of Muttanchery (or Muttancheri) and a look at Kochi's Jewish Quarter. Shots of the local (very) longboats on the water are another hightlight.

The 'Malarax' of the title is mysterious - perhaps it was intended to mean the Malabar Coast, and was misread from handwritten notes when the film was acquired by the BFI National Archive. This was one of a number of films shot by Sir Hopetoun Stokes (1873-1951) and his wife, Lady Alice Stokes. Sir Hopetoun served as an official in the Indian Civil Service from the mid-1890s and rose to high office: by 1930 he was the Chief Secretary to the Madras Presidency.

Genres

Amateur film

Country

United Kingdom

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Subjects

Watch for free

Villenour. (French India: Territory of Pondicherry) Villenour. (French India: Territory of Pondicherry)

Travelogue 1914 4 mins Silent

Gorgeously dreamlike colour images of (then) French India – present-day Puducherry

Watch for free

Uti 1925 Uti 1925

Amateur film 1925 15 mins Silent

Snapshots of colonial life around Tamil Nadu, plus a visit to the Toda tribe

Watch for free

Sir John Laing Missionary Films Madras & Ceylon Sir John Laing Missionary Films Madras & Ceylon

Amateur film 1947 18 mins Silent

Rare amateur footage of Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka

Watch for free

Houseboating in Waltair Houseboating in Waltair

Amateur film 1926 13 mins Silent

The Uzielli family takes to the water in Visakhapatnam, southern India

Watch for free

Dancers at Trivandrum Gopinath Dancers at Trivandrum Gopinath

Amateur film 1946 7 mins Silent

Kathakali performance featuring the great Indian dancer Guru Gopinath, filmed in remarkable colour by ‘envoy of the Raj’ Clarmont Skrine

Watch for free

Street Scenes in India: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 1 Street Scenes in India: Colonel Alexander Personal Film 1

Amateur film 1935 9 mins Silent

From the arrival of a new viceroy to street markets, this amateur film captures the diversity of life in colonial India

Watch for free

Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A

Short interview 2024 24 mins

Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.

Watch for free

Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A

Short interview 2024 30 mins

Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.

Watch for free

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.

Watch for free

Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels

Short documentary 2024 12 mins

Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.