Inside the Archive #48: Exhibits and study days
Learn more about an exciting new exhibition shining a light on the BFI National Archive, some recent study days and what the archive looked like in the 1980s.
Inside the Archive at Folkestone Documentary Festival 2025
In an exciting development, this week we launched the brand new Inside the Archive touring exhibition at Folkestone Documentary Festival. Through a selection of interactive displays, videos and games, this exhibition gives users a look into one of the largest collections of film and television in the world, and behind the scenes at the BFI National Archive.
It was great to see people of all ages exploring the exhibit and hear what they’d learnt about the archive and our work. Alongside the exhibition, we also screened three new shorts commissioned through the Our Screen Heritage programme: Threads of Memory (2025), Keep Fit (2025), and Song of the Suburbs (2025). The films were a great addition and a helped to contextualise how archive material can be used in visual storytelling.
Following the success of Folkestone, the exhibition will be at Derby QUAD from 30 October – 2 November. If you are local and interested in visiting, you can find more information here. After that, it will hit the road and help us to bring the story of the BFI National Archive (and the people who work there) to audiences all over the UK.
– Molly Petter, Outreach and Engagement Coordinator (Our Screen Heritage)
Study days: life in modern Britain
We’re running a series of study days for key stage 3 and 4 students through the Our Screen Heritage project. The sessions explore migration, identity and democracy through the lens of modern British archive film. The series launched in late September at the Ultimate Picture Palace in Oxford. I was able to attend the most recent one at the Depot Cinema in Lewes.
It was a delight to see how students engaged with the activities which opened with an interactive presentation from the BFI’s Carol-Mei Barker (Programme Lead for Schools). The presentation was a great foundation for the day as you could see students lose their initial nerves and start to interact with the archive clips and activity pack.
In the afternoon, in partnership with Screen Archive South East, there was a screening of Two Way Ticket (1968) which tells the story of the Pestalozzi Children’s Village in Sedlescombe. This was followed by a Q&A with William Eiduks, a former student of Pestalozzi. It was obvious how impactful William’s story was for the students as they had plenty of thoughtful questions to ask.
We were then led through an unconscious bias exercise by Lilian Simonsson, co-founder of the Enthum Foundation. For the exercise, all attendees were asked to stand for statements they agreed with. Lilian created a safe space where the students were able to freely express their opinions. It was a poignant activity, and I believe helped align the learnings from the day to their current experiences and feelings on identity.
The day ended with a talk by Alison Bell, who works for the local charity Lewes Refugee Support Group. It was a lovely way to highlight to the students the organisations that are helping in their local community.
You can learn more about upcoming study days and how to book on here.
– Francesca Worricker, Project Administrator (Our Screen Heritage)
Designing an archive for the 1980s and beyond
Ever wondered what the BFI National Archive looked like in the 1980s?
As we continue to celebrate the archive’s 90th anniversary, find out more about this pivotal decade in our history and discover how, why and when, the John Paul Getty Jr Conservation Centre came into being, with our latest Inside the Archive video essay.
– Alex Prideaux, Marketing Manager (Our Screen Heritage)
The Inside the Archive blog is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery funding.