This film is part of Free

Title of error

See Help

Fresh As a Daisy

A retired Major's efforts to hone his golf skills are thwarted by the diminutive but defiant common daisy.

School programme and Educational film 1945 16 mins

Overview

Pioneer cinematographer Percy Smith's spectacular stop-motion close-ups awaken us to the splendour and resilience of the common daisy. Smith's skill, patience and inventiveness (he made many of his own photographic 'gadgets') combined with a liberal sprinkling of wry humour made for educational yet entertaining viewing. It is a forerunner to later wildlife television documentaries.

British Instructional Film's Secrets of Nature series continued into the 1930s, when it became Secrets of Life (1934-1950) and thrived until Percy Smith's death in 1945, the year this film was made. The films were shown in cinemas and classrooms across Britain and abroad and in their day were as popular as David Attenborough's wildlife documentaries.

Director

Irene Wilson

Featuring

E.V.H. Emmett

Genres

School programme and Educational film

Country

United Kingdom

Language

English

Subjects

Daisies

Watch for free

New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine

Short documentary 2025 4 mins

Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.

Watch for free

Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A

Inside Film 2025 30 mins

The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.