This film is part of Free
The British Fascisti
The British Fascist movement holds a 10,000-strong rally in Trafalgar Square the day before Remembrance Sunday
Overview
“Red flag not wanted at Trafalgar Square” reads a headline covering the largest mass gathering of the British Fascist movement. Modelled on Benito Mussolini’s successful Italian counterpart, the British Fascisti (as they then styled themselves) was a radical nationalist party aiming to influence the Conservative Party into becoming an overtly anti-Communist movement. Topical Budget’s camera missed the conclusion, a ceremonial laying of symbolic black and white wreaths on the then-new Cenotaph.
The British Fascisti, or British Fascists from 1924 (the original name was considered too foreign) was Britain’s first explicitly fascist political party, founded by Rotha Lintorn-Orman (1895-1935), a member of the Women’s Volunteer Reserve during WWI whose fiercely anti-Communist views and admiration for Mussolini led her to seek to follow his example. But the 1924 rally may have been the British Fascisti’s high point: riven by numerous schisms and the rise of more successful fascist organisations (notably Oswald Mosley’s British Union of Fascists), the party was dissolved a decade later.
Related
Simcha Simcha
Documentary 2000 12 mins
Extremely rare insight in the role of a Hasidic woman, featuring a mother-daughter team who live in North London.
Some of My Best Friends Some of My Best Friends
Documentary 1969 30 mins Location: Westminster
Jewish people - and a few Gentiles - muse on what it means to be Jewish in 1960s Britain
Chief Rabbi's Emergency Council Chief Rabbi's Emergency Council
1947 19 mins Silent
Poignant postwar appeal for Britain’s Jewry to support orphaned Jewish children rescued from Europe
Jewish Pensioners' Controversial Pools Win Jewish Pensioners' Controversial Pools Win
News 1975 5 mins Location: Southend-on-Sea
All good pals and jolly good company! A syndicate of Jewish pensioners from Southend celebrate their big win on the football pools.
Just One Kid Just One Kid
Factual TV 1974 54 mins Silent
A Jewish Eastender recalls growing up in poverty in the 1930s and being part of a community now long gone
Mr. Emmanuel Mr. Emmanuel
Drama 1944 97 mins
An elderly Jewish man journeys to Nazi Germany to track down a refugee’s mother in this extraordinary drama
All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A All We Imagine As Light - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2025 28 mins
Payal Kapadia discusses her Cannes prize-winning and Bafta-nominated drama with Ashanti Omkar.
Khichdi Khichdi
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 16 mins
The interwoven stories of four best friends who reunite in the UK, thirty-five years after training together as nurses during their teens in Ferozepur, Punjab.
Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology Dr XYZ: A Medical Drag Transthology
Documentary 2023 15 mins
A satirical take on the healthcare service announcements of the 1960s and 70s.
Every Moment Counts Every Moment Counts
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2023 9 mins
A short animation that offers a window into the world of children’s palliative care.
Police Story: Panel Discussion Police Story: Panel Discussion
Inside Film 2024 24 mins
Panel discussion on Jackie Chan's 1985 action classic Police Story, with Chase Armitage, Sam Mak and Jadey Duffield.
China O'Brien: The Reunion China O'Brien: The Reunion
Documentary 2024 60 mins
Cynthia Rothrock, Richard Norton and Keith Cooke reunite three decades on from the groundbreaking martial arts classic.