This film is part of Free
Fenlands
Fascinating documentary about the management of the East Anglian Fens, an intricate network of 17th-century waterways carved through peat bogs.
Overview
This fascinating documentary charts the management of the East Anglian Fens by the Fenland watermen. Carved through ominous peat bogs in the 17th century, the waterways are a complex network of channels used to irrigate local farmland. The fact that much of the Fenlands are below sea level makes them extremely challenging to maintain.
The watermen’s heroic efforts are intricately documented by director Ken Annakin (Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines) a once unheralded director who in recent times has received more recognition and who began his filmmaking career with several non-fiction shorts like this one. Fenlands is also available on the BFI DVD collection Land of Promise: The British Documentary Movement 1930-1950. This government film is a public record, preserved and presented by the BFI National Archive on behalf of The National Archives, home to more than 1,000 years of British history.
Related
Around the Village Green Around the Village Green
Travelogue 1937 12 mins Location: Finchingfield
Rural life in the Essex villages of Finchingfield and Great Bardfield - and the mixed reactions of older residents to changing times.
One Foot in Eden One Foot in Eden
Documentary 1978 49 mins Location: Orkney Islands
Orkney evoked through poetry, the sounds of nature, and the music of Peter Maxwell Davies.
A Day in the Hayfields A Day in the Hayfields
Non-Fiction 1904 3 mins Silent Location: Walton-on-Thames
Midsummer haymaking larks
West of England West of England
Industry sponsored film 1951 10 mins Location: Stroud
The Stroud valleys of Gloucestershire in glorious Technicolor - and with a Laurie Lee script.
Showtime Showtime
Documentary 1984 23 mins Location: Newark-on-Trent
From shire horses to the Royal Marines, welcome to the annual Newark Show. A serious business for the farming community, with prizes to win and 800 gallons of beer to be drunk.
Springtime in an English Village Springtime in an English Village
Documentary 1944 7 mins Location: Stanion
An extraordinary and unexpected snapshot of rural life in wartime in which a young black girl is crowned Queen of the May.
Trial by Weather Trial by Weather
Documentary 1948 21 mins Location: Fenlands, The
Farmers face off against elemental forces in a peace-time campaign
Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A Getting it Back: The Story of Cymande - Q&A
Inside Film 2024 22 mins
The director of a documentary about British funk pioneers Cymande joins the band at BFI Southbank to talk about the film.
The West Case The West Case
Action and Adventure 1923 28 mins Silent Location: Tilbury
Plotting world domination, Devil Doctor Fu-Manchu steals plans for a new aero-torpedo in this earliest surviving thrill-a-minute serial instalment.
Enter the Scala!!! Enter the Scala!!!
Inside Film 2024 16 mins
Filmmakers Jane Giles and Ali Catterall discuss their documentary Scala!!!, revisiting the legendary and inspirational cinema venue and some of the most notorious films that screened there.
Smith Smith
Charity appeal 1939 10 mins
Long thought lost, this Powell-directed promotional short for a veteran’s charity was only rediscovered in 2003.
An Airman's Letter to His Mother An Airman's Letter to His Mother
Documentary 1941 6 mins
A poignant, stirring letter from a recently deceased pilot to his mother is read by John Gielgud.
The NHS75 Celebration The NHS75 Celebration
Short documentary 2023 3 mins
Former Bristol Poet Laureate, Miles Chambers reads a poem specially commissioned for the 75th anniversary of the NHS.