Heart of an Empire

Produced by the Fox Movietone News arm of Fox Film Corporation and based on the book by Lawrence Stallings, this expanded newsreel, using stock-and-archive footage, tells the story of World War I from inception to conclusion. Alternating with scenes of trench warfare and intimate glimpses of European royalty at home, and scenes of conflict at sea combined with sequences of films from the secret archives of many of the involved nations.

Impressionistic glimpses of London life from early morning to rush hour.

Saar is an HIV positive gay man living in London, where he found refuge from the religious kibbutz where he grew up in Israel. Ever since he was diagnosed with HIV, Saar has craved his family's love, while they struggle with fears and prejudices.

The story of Annabel's, the most celebrated nightclub in the world, and its 50-year history. Renowned for its discretion, and as a haunt of some of our greatest celebrities, the film offers a hitherto unseen glimpse into the rarefied worlds behind the doors of 44 Berkeley Square.

Every day in Sutton, scientists from The Institute of Cancer Research at The London Cancer Hub try to discover what will defeat cancer. In the summer of 2022, communities in Sutton came together to celebrate their incredible research through the creation of a short community film celebrating this science. The resulting film showcases choreographed dance sequences as creative yet recognisable interpretations of scientific concepts.

Memories of Mortlake is an antique shop in West London owned by Elke from Germany. In her tiny shop there are no spaces left uncovered, every shelf and surface is piled up with wonderful old treasures. But she's only able to keep going because she owns the freehold to her building, a luxury most junk stores can only dream of. She's a passionate maker of things too so has an astonishing collection of old buttons, lace, ribbon, beads and fabric. She talks about the demise of sewing skills among the young, how no one appreciates the workmanship in all the hand made stuff and the death of the retail shops during the pandemic in London.

Celebrating London’s women mural artists, documenting WOM Collective's Street Art Jam and graffiti workshop at Stockwell Hall of Fame.

First broadcast in 1987 on the UK's Channel 4, Bombin' is a documentary about Afrika Bambaataa's Zulu nation bringing American hip-hop culture to the UK for first time. The main focus is the graffiti art of Brim and the variety of reactions he is faced with from the British public and press.

A fragmented collection of independent closed cinemas, in London during lockdown, captured on Super 8mm film.

Dance for All

A colorful travelogue of London's most historic buildings and the residual damage still left from WWII.

Nick Broomfield met Hsiao Hung Pai, a journalist who was working for the Guardian, when making his feature film 'Ghosts' (about the Morecambe Bay Chinese Cockle Pickers ). As an experiment and using the latest in undercover technology, Nick worked with Hsiao to make a Undercover film set in a Chinese brothel in Finchley. There are over 2000 'illegal' brothels in London,largely ignored by the police and the authorities, which employ 80% foreign nationals, mostly illegal, that are easily exploited by the brothel owners.

Vertical Expectations is a documentary that explores the nexus between architecture, development and society through an ethnographic analysis of the current building of the Shard.

Comprising new and archival footage, this film observes rituals performed by the South Asian, African, and Caribbean diaspora in Britain, demonstrating an appreciation of land, community values, and the universe we share with other species and planets.

Freddie Mercury (1946-91) was not just a man with one of the most pure and amazing voices the world has heard, but he was also the lead singer for Queen, the most enthusiastic rock band in history.

Through the experiences of two women in Paris and London, Ghost Dance offers an analysis of the complexity of our conceptions of ghosts, memory and the past. The film focuses on the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, who observes, 'I think cinema, when it's not boring, is the art of letting ghosts come back.' He also says that 'memory is the past that has never had the form of the present.'

Stand-up comedian Robert Newman gets to grips with the wars and politics of the last hundred years, from WWI through to the 2003 invasion of Iraq; but rather than adhering to the history we were fed at school, this show places oil centre stage as the cause of all commotion. This innovative history programme is based around Robert Newman's stand-up act and supported by resourceful archive sequences and stills with satirical impersonations of historical figures from Mayan priests to Archduke Ferdinand.

Stephen Fry tours the City of London, discovering the hidden mysteries of this rich and powerful square mile. Along the way, he visits the Bank of England's vaults, witnesses high drama at the London Metal Exchange as dealers buy and sell stocks, and experiences Dead Man's Walk at the Old Bailey, where many condemned criminals trod their final steps. Plus, as a recipient of the Freedom of the City of London, Stephen finds out just what privileges this gives him.

Was the legendary playwright William Shakespeare really the author of his acclaimed plays? Or was he just a straw man working for a secret society? Norwegian organist and researcher Petter Amundsen claims to have a solid theory on the subject. Shakespearean scholar Robert Crumpton decides to travel to Norway to meet him.

Based on Geoffrey Fletcher’s book, this captivating documentary exposes the real London of the swinging sixties. Turning its back on familiar sights, the film explores the hidden details of a crumbling metropolis. With James Mason as our Guide, we are led on an tour of the weird and wonderful pockets of London from abandoned music-halls to egg breaking factories.