London's Contrasts

Swans, boats and bridges are celebrated by lyrical commentary and fine images in this delightful tour of the Thames from “trivial” beginnings to torrential end.

A mermaid, a fat man in a barrel and water-bound jockeys all appear in this brilliant short showing Londoners taking part in the Molesey Regatta.

A ceremonial swan census takes place on the river Thames.

A nostalgic pre-war voyage down the mighty Thames, shot by Technicolor maestro Jack Cardiff.

Don your straw boater and join Victorians at play as you potter down the river at Henley-on-Thames

A rare glimpse of 1930s London in colour: the Thames has never looked lovelier.

Walking down memory lane on a whistle-stop tour of central London, as seen through the eyes of a local filmmaker

Easter Parade in Hyde Park, April 1958.

London, 1959: the Hilton Hotel rises from the ashes, surrounded by derelict houses and bomb damaged streets

Thousands of children honour Queen Victoria's birthday with an Empire Day parade in Hyde Park

Stroll through Hyde Park in your winter coat, but with the daffodils beginning to bloom, spring is nearly here!

Three cheers for women's right to vote! Thousands of 'peaceful, law-abiding Suffragists' - and their hat-waving supporters - converge on Hyde Park.

A teenage boy trails a group of young hustlers, thinking one of them may be his anonymous hook-up for the night.

Amongst the young members of a swimming team, the onset of puberty brings unwanted challenges.

When Little Jia is asked to read his essay about how he spent Women's Day with his mother out loud in class, he has to hide the sad truth that only his friend Dong knows.

China in the early 1990s. By day, Chen Shi is a man employed in a textile workshop. At night, she is a woman in a red dress. One evening, she falls in love with a man she meets at a dance hall.

Two teenage boys in a Malaysian boarding school wrestle with the challenges of bullying and identity.

A Chinese-American restaurant worker falls in love with an 18th century Qing dynasty god, who visits him at night and leads him on a journey of sexual awakening and self-discovery.