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Crowds pay homage to the legendary naked rider during Coventry’s Edwardian coronation celebrations.
Non-Fiction 1902 9 mins Silent
Godgifu, an 11th century noblewoman, famously rode naked through the streets of Coventry to save her people from what historian Daniel Donoghue described as "an oppressive and shameful servitude". This film comprises four extracts from a two to three-hour procession, held in Coventry on the afternoon of 9 September 1902 to commemorate her legend and to mark the coronation of Edward VII.
The procession starred the fabulously voluptuous and successful London Hippodrome actress Vera Guedes as Godiva/Godgifu. The film opens with a lingering shot of Godiva on horseback (in a flesh-coloured dress), highlighting her significance in the event. The remaining sequences shift the focus as the procession is used to exhibit local trade.
Non-Fiction 1901 7 mins Silent Location: Hipperholme
Summertime laughs and larks at a West Yorkshire pleasure gardens.
Non-Fiction 1907 5 mins Silent Location: Llandudno
May Day festivities in the North Wales town.
Non-Fiction 1901 2 mins Silent Location: Pendlebury
Outside a fairground cinematograph in Edwardian Lancashire.
Non-Fiction 1901 7 mins Silent Location: Morecambe
Crystal-clear views of town, sands, sea, tourists and locals at the Lancashire resort.
Non-Fiction 1903 18 mins Silent Location: Bootle
May Day revellers brave a wet and windy day in Edwardian Merseyside.
Non-Fiction 1905 1 mins Silent Location: Leyland
A colourful May festival parade in the Lancashire town.
Amateur film 1965 12 mins Location: London
Join the Clague family as they zoom up an empty M1 to Stratford upon Avon, Long Itchington and Coventry - a city reborn after its 1940 destruction
Current affairs 1986 7 mins Location: Coventry
Two councils with two different approaches to LGBT rights.
Current affairs 1978 9 mins Location: West Bromwich
The UK's immigration laws have prevented Dara Singh from seeing his family for a decade. His is one of many sad stories...
Documentary 1975 26 mins Location: Ruddington
The industrial Midlands pioneered textile production; from the framework knitters of Nottinghamshire to the birth of the modern factory in the Derwent valley in Derbyshire.
News 1965 3 mins Location: Coventry
As normal the fans are packed into Coventry City's Highfield Road ground for a match. The difference is that the game is being played 130 miles away in Cardiff.
Amateur film 1936 11 mins Silent Location: Coventry
The surreal presence of barrage balloons on the Coventry skyline gives this home movie an end-of-an-era feel.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2017 4 mins
A comedy-drama animation about two best friends growing up in the same world but experiencing it completely differently.
Drama 2018 8 mins
Samona Olanipekun explores the concepts of home, identity and belonging, from the starting point of the theme of globalisation.
Drama 2017 16 mins
Compelling story of a complex relationship between an imperious father and his son.
Documentary 2020 28 mins
Three African American fathers unravel the incomparable partnership of forgiveness and community.
Music video 2019 8 mins
A conceptual film following musical artist Jords’ quest to serendipity. The Tree of Life’ is the cornerstone of the film as he battles to triumph through grief.
Documentary 2019 3 mins
Exploring the way in which culture has a fundamental influence within the African Diaspora in London.
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