News and features
News from the Archive
British Silent Film Festival
This year's 14th Festival explores music and sound in silent film presentation, and the medium's unlikely relationship with radio. Plus all the usual rarities and rediscoveries.
A Day in the Life
Winner for Best Documentary at this year's Evening Standard Film Awards was veteran filmmaker John Krish - with a selection of films made over 40 years ago and re-presented by the BFI National Archive.
Big City Stories
A vibrant new touring programme, launching at BFI Southbank in April, draws on the BFI National Archive's collections to explore the lives and times of Black and Asian Londoners.
Features
The Archive on YouTube
As the BFI's restoration of the 1903 Alice in Wonderland notches up a record-breaking millionth YouTube viewing, we look at the Archive's most popular showcase.
Boom Britain: Preserving Post-War Documentary
Scott Stark takes us through the complex technical and logistical procedures involved in the Boom Britain project.
Lost No Longer
Early appearances by Sean Connery and Maggie Smith are among the highlights of the most exciting ever rediscovery of lost British TV, as senior curator of Television Steve Bryant explains.
Return to the Antarctic
Curator of silent film Bryony Dixon discusses the restoration of The Great White Silence (1924), the astonishing film of Scott's doomed polar expedition, which premiered at the 54th London Film Festival.
Archived News
Tales from the Shipyard
The BFI National Archive explores one of Britain's defining industries through a fascinating collection of films, including a striking polemic directed by one Sean Connery.
Boom Britain: The Reception
The BFI's major project on postwar British documentary attracted rave press reviews and articles, enthusiastic audiences and personal messages from the filmmakers.
Boom Britain: Shadows of Progress
The BFI's major new project charts the neglected history of postwar British documentary, including the long-awaited sequel to the DVD box set Land of Promise.
BFI Most Wanted
Join the hunt for Britain's 75 most sought-after missing films, including absent works from the likes of Hitchcock and Michael Powell.
