Free
Most Popular Free 2020
Bevan, badgers and some very British goings on - your favourites from our collections…
The free films that caught your imagination in 2020.
These Are the Hands These Are the Hands
Charity appeal 2020 2 mins
Beautiful NHS fundraiser, setting Michael Rosen’s poem to powerful archive images.
A-tish-oo A-tish-oo
Government sponsored film 1941 6 mins
The face mask comes of age in this intriguing wartime guide to germ prevention.
Quarantine Quarantine
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2018 13 mins
A post-Brexit pagan dance fantasy about a troupe of Morris-dancing badgers forced to confront the animals quarantined in a facility built above their burrow.
Grove Carnival Grove Carnival
Documentary 1981 18 mins Location: Notting Hill
West London echoes to the sound of reggae and steel pans in this kaleidoscopic record of the 1980 Notting Hill Carnival.
In One End In One End
Documentary 1977 28 mins Location: Southwold
Real ale and folk music in the pub – performed by Fairport Convention – are celebrated in this portrait of Southwold on the Suffolk coast and the work of the Adnams brewery.
Caribbean Restaurant Caribbean Restaurant
Magazine and Review show 1986 7 mins Location: West Bromwich
Bringing the tastes of Montego Bay to a wintry West Bromwich.
Survivors Guilt Survivors Guilt
Comedy 2020 8 mins
A young recluse suffering from PTSD encounters a late-night commercial that promises him an unexpected and somewhat magical cure.
Almost An Adult Almost An Adult
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.
Black Country Food Black Country Food
News 1972 5 mins Location: Wednesbury
Tasting the plain, good 'fittle' of the Black Country - just remember to pull the hairs out of those pork scratchings.
Talent Contest (Fun Palace outtakes) Talent Contest (Fun Palace outtakes)
Amateur film 1963 10 mins Silent Location: London
A compelling glimpse inside an unnamed East End pub in 1963 where a talent show takes place featuring singers and strippers.
Ojumo Ti Mo Ojumo Ti Mo
Documentary 2019 16 mins
Three years after their father passed, a family of four women come together through a series of phone calls spanning over three months.
Bickershaw Festival Bickershaw Festival
Amateur film 1972 19 mins Silent Location: Bickershaw
Mud and music at Wigan's answer to Woodstock.
Night Mail Night Mail
Documentary 1936 24 mins Location: Euston Sta
The flagship of the GPO Film Unit's output and a cornerstone of British documentary, featuring music by Benjamin Britten and the verse of W.H. Auden.
Glastonbury Festival and the First Pyramid Stage Glastonbury Festival and the First Pyramid Stage
Current affairs 1971 5 mins Location: Glastonbury
Glastonbury ley lines for iconic pyramid stage to heighten a festival-goer’s experience
Action in Slow Motion Action in Slow Motion
1943 3 mins Silent
A naked woman cavorts innocently at the seaside in this 1940s nudist film, strictly for artists and students only
Dear Philadelphia Dear Philadelphia
Documentary 2020 28 mins
Three African American fathers unravel the incomparable partnership of forgiveness and community.
New Towns in Britain New Towns in Britain
1956 14 mins Location: Harlow
An insider's guide to 1950s Harlow made for US audiences, with architect Frederick Gibberd interviewed from the top of the Lawn tower block.
4 and 20 Fit Girls 4 and 20 Fit Girls
1940 11 mins Silent
Flock to your local keep fit class - there's a war on and Britain needs its citizens in tip-top shape.
Mark Kermode Online In 3D with Riz Ahmed, Aleem Khan, Joanna Scanlan, Tricia Tuttle and Ben Wheatley Mark Kermode Online In 3D with Riz Ahmed, Aleem Khan, Joanna Scanlan, Tricia Tuttle and Ben Wheatley
Discussion programme 2020 45 mins
Mark looks back at the 2020 BFI London Film Festival, speaking to Festival Director Tricia Tuttle about the challenges of this year and chatting to the creators of two of the Festival’s most talked about titles: Mogul Mowgli and After Love.
Hot Dogs Hot Dogs
Documentary 1970 10 mins Location: Bingley
The quirks of a whippet race, with novices in winklepickers learning from the old hands, all fully elucidated in broad West Yorkshire dialect.
Findus - Pancakes: Pancake Day (Revised Version) Findus - Pancakes: Pancake Day (Revised Version)
Advert 1981 1 mins
The iconic Findus frozen food, a crispy pancake wrapped around a choice of four different fillings.