This film is part of Free
India: Hunting with Elephants
On the trail of big game in this extraordinary home movie shot by famous hunter and conservationist Jim Corbett
Overview
Edward James (aka Jim) Corbett was one of India’s most famous big game hunters who, improbably, became one of its most significant conservationists. In this film, one of several home movies he made, it is the sheer scale of the hunt which seems so extraordinary today - dozens of elephants and a cast of hundreds. The juxtaposition of images - jolly picnics following the slaughter of ‘big game’ - is particularly unsettling.
Born in 1875 in Nainital, Corbett recorded his hunting exploits in a series of books including Man-Eaters of Kumaon - hugely popular boys’ own adventures that continue to be widely read. Corbett progressed from shooting the wildlife to preserving it and helped to form both the Association for the Preservation of Game in the United Provinces and the All-India Conference for the Preservation of Wild Life. Corbett left India with the rest of the British in 1947, and moved to Kenya where he died in 1955. India’s oldest national park was re-named the Jim Corbett National Park in his honour later that year.
Related
Mother Mother
Documentary 1947 16 mins
A social worker teaches her Indian village neighbours about clean, modern childbirth
Child Child
Documentary 1947 18 mins Silent
Advice for village families on raising children to become strong, healthy citizens
A Native Street in India A Native Street in India
Non-Fiction 1906 2 mins Silent
Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city. Can you identify it?
Sports dans l'armée des Indes Sports dans l'armée des Indes
Interest film 1910 5 mins Silent
A demonstration of sport and fitness by members of the Indian Army
India - Personal Film 1 - C. 1940 India - Personal Film 1 - C. 1940
Amateur film 1940 2 mins Silent
Family life in colonial India - baby Georgina with her British mother and Chinese amah, possibly in Calcutta
India India
Amateur film 1929 14 mins Silent
Amateur film of the passage to India - complete with guest appearance by Gandhi
Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion Frederick Wiseman's High School - a discussion
Short documentary 2026 22 mins
Filmmaker Andrea Luka Zimmerman and curator Matthew Barrington discuss Frederick Wiseman’s High School with Sandra Hebron.
A Last Resort A Last Resort
Comedy 2022 17 mins
Rose is desperate to celebrate her 60th birthday in style, but her daughter Genevieve is struggling to ignore some recent tragic news about her mum.
Hard, Cracked the Wind Hard, Cracked the Wind
Horror 2019 17 mins
A haunting with words is the lure between life and death for a young Cornish poet.
The Walk The Walk
Drama 2023 12 mins
Adeel Akhtar portrays a man on a weekly trek to his nearest JobCentre, entering a state of purgatory through barriers put in place by the system.
Seagull Seagull
Horror 2022 6 mins
Seagull is a recovering drug addict who is about to have a very strange night on The English Riviera.
Octopus Octopus
2021 13 mins
Upon returning to her home town for a funeral, a young woman reconnects with the friends she left behind.