Madeira: 'Isle of Romance'

As part of the 2017 UK-India Year of Culture, the British Council and British Film Institute share a unique collection of films documenting the sights and culture of a bygone India. Filmed between 1899-1947, and preserved in the BFI National Archive since then, these rare films capture many glimpses of life in India, from dances and markets, to hunts and pageantry.

Inspired by The Seven Valleys, the film follows a solitary wayfarer who steps onto a spiritual journey of self-knowledge, guided not by destination but by transformation. Shot across the historic landscapes of Oxford, the journey unfolds as both an inner pilgrimage and a physical passage that reflects the wayfarer’s movement toward surrender, silence, and submission.

From dawn till dusk in the bohemian heart of London’s West End. This 1979 portrait of the people and places of Soho catches the neighbourhood towards the end of an era. There's some great footage inside an Italian delicatessen and of assorted street characters. It's a fascinating glimpse into this walled garden of cosmopolitan life on the cusp of the gentrification and commercial interests that have since broken its borders.

A jetliner spans the miles, sheering through clouds to open sky and scenic vistas of the provinces below. Glimpses of town and country, of people of many ethnic origins, of a resourceful and industrious nation - impressions it would take days and weeks to gather at first hand - are brought to you in this vivid 1800-kilometer panorama.

Charming 60s travelogue inviting us to enjoy the delights of Eastbourne, where the sun always shines!

An astonishing English tourist’s view of street life in pre-partition Srinagar and Kashmir.

This travelogue takes in some of the most important landmarks of Islamic power in India.

Luscious colour photography of the Taj Mahal and a Mediterranean cruise to Port Said.

Two sides of Mysore: down to earth with the field workers and an Indian spectacle for the Maharaja.

Amateur footage of a trip into the Himalaya.

In this superbly produced, two-part documentary, you'll trace the holy city's prophetic history and explore what the Bible professes regarding Jerusalem's fate.

Amateur film of fishing and geese-shooting trips by a British party in India.

Life in the bustling Punjabi city of Rawalpindi before partition.

When Tomoko finds some messages for a 'Mr Smith' on a lost mobile phone, she finds herself on an 'Alice in Wonderland' journey through Tokyo's boulevards and back alleys. From the tyranny of symmetry in soaring office blocks - to buildings that look like space-ships, this creative documentary shows us the city's soul.

The Maharajah of Kapurthala and guests travel on elephants and men catch fish on the River Bias.

To popularize the idea of automobile travel, Ford Motor Company produced Ford Educational Weekly, a film magazine distributed free to theaters. One 1916 series featured "Visits to American Cities." In this episode, Los Angeles is featured at the very beginning of the boom created by oil, movies and aircraft. On the occasion of its centennial in 1953, Ford donated its film to the National Archives and Records Service; this copy derives from a fine grain master printed from the Archive's preservation negative. Music by Frederick Hodges.

Botanical gardens in Bombay plus the highly decorative Jain Temple in Calcutta.

Early film of a crowded street scene in an unidentified Indian city.

The reception ebbs and flows as the unfamiliar landscape whirls by the window of a plane or train or car. Communication is delayed, fragmented, interrupted. Memories of a distant country.

They come in high-powered convertibles, with cameras and curiosity, to look at French Canada and French-Canadians. Their usual objective is Québec City, where they can soak up a bit of French culture without a trip to France. With an eye for humour, VISIT TO A FOREIGN COUNTRY shows the people of Québec taking a look at American tourists who have come to Québec to take a look at them.