Please download the latest version of the BFI Player app (3.4)
AirPlay is now enabled and casting functionality has been improved
This film is part of Free
The annual ceremony around the coronation of Macclesfield's silk queen will worm its way into your heart.
Non-Fiction 1933 4 mins
Some industries are so woven in to the life of the towns that house them that they come to dominate the social fabric. Macclesfield's claim to the title of 'Silk Town' stands not just on its particular contribution to Britain's textile industry, but also on events such as this one: the coronation of a local mill worker as 'Britain's Silk Queen'. Commissioned from a newsreel company, the film is all the more charming for the absence of the usual voiceover, leaving just the unmediated mutterings of the crowd.
Home movie 1937 20 mins Silent Location: Llangollen
Nellie Boote's laundry in Market Street in operation, the women dashing away with all manner of smoothing irons as clothes are sorted, mended, washed, ironed and sorted again.
Documentary 1965 24 mins Location: Langley Mill
A mile of yarn and a million loops to make one stocking: the culmination of a four hundred year old craft.
News 1967 6 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne
Fashion doesnt grow on treesor does it! Tyne Tees TV was bang on-trend with this brilliant news feature on the hip 1960s cult for a disposable age - paper fashion.
Industry sponsored film 1971 23 mins Location: Greengates
Twisted yarns and empty spindles, everything from Bouclé to Slub yarn, from beginning to end, and all, in the end, displayed on a ‘normal’ model in typical 1970s fashion.
Promotional 1919 19 mins Silent Location: Bolton
From raw resource to finished product, by cleaning and spinning, weaving and bleaching - take a look at the textile industry from the inside.
News 1977 2 mins Silent Location: Exmouth
Wearing Fur gets Hairy
Promotional 1968 29 mins Location: Manchester
Faith in the inner city - the mission of the Sharon Full Gospel Church in Manchester.
Non-Fiction 1913 5 mins Silent Location: Macclesfield
A carnival procession and Rose Queen crowning ceremony, possibly in Birmingham
Promotional 1954 14 mins Location: Macclesfield
Come to Cheshire to visit "the most famous silk firm in the greatest silk town in both hemispheres".
Documentary 1970 11 mins Location: Macclesfield
Handloom weaving, and its place in the history of textile production.
Industry sponsored film 1940 18 mins Location: Macclesfield
Silk production in Cheshire, using time-tested methods to produce a perfect product.
Amateur film 1969 15 mins Silent Location: Manchester
An opportunity to visit the Sharon Full Gospel Church of Manchester, and the young members of its congregation.
Drama 2018 7 mins
Khwaaish or 'Desire' is an Indian short film that glimpses into the life of one man’s longing to find a same-sex companion, in a city that refuses to accept LGBTQIA+ people.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2015 5 mins
Beautifully animated short film about a boy's feelings of love for another boy – his best friend.
Romance 2017 15 mins
A first-of-its-kind silent LGBTQ short film set in India, Sisak makes waves before the visuals of this film hit the shore.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2017 12 mins
Lalit decides to come out to his parents at dinner. Seeking acceptance, he cooks his father’s favourite fish curry.
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2015 5 mins
A British Indian woman and her father discuss their opposing views on family and sexuality in this beautifully moving, visually striking 2D animated short film.
Romance 2017 12 mins
A young trans woman embarks on a poignant quest for love after falling for a rickshaw driver.
Do you recognise a place, building or location in this film?
Help us populate the Britain on Film map by spotting and plotting the street or location you know. This is a BFI project and anyone can help.
Go to our Britain on Film crowdsourcing site and contribute to our mapping mission – to identify locations within our archive films.
Add a location
