Kobelkoff

Railway Station

January 1980 •Polish

Kieslowski’s later film Dworzec (Station, 1980) portrays the atmosphere at Central Station in Warsaw after the rush hour.

The Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat

June 1896 •French

A group of people are standing along the platform of a railway station in La Ciotat, waiting for a train. One is seen coming, at some distance, and eventually stops at the platform. Doors of the railway-cars open and attendants help passengers off and on. Popular legend has it that, when this film was shown, the first-night audience fled the café in terror, fearing being run over by the "approaching" train. This legend has since been identified as promotional embellishment, though there is evidence to suggest that people were astounded at the capabilities of the Lumières' cinématographe.

Berlin: Symphony of a Great City

September 1927 •German

A day in the city of Berlin, which experienced an industrial boom in the 1920s, and still provides an insight into the living and working conditions at that time. Germany had just recovered a little from the worst consequences of the First World War, the great economic crisis was still a few years away and Hitler was not yet an issue at the time.

Crabs and Shrimp

December 1930 •French

Jean Painlevé is interested here, with the help of Eli Lotar, in crabs and shrimps. He is particularly interested in detailing their anatomy and observing their mating and fighting behavior.

Time Stood Still

April 1956 •English

Time Stood Still is a 1956 Warner Brothers Scope Gem travelogue, filmed the previous year in Dinkelsbühl, and presented in the wide-screen format of CinemaScope, directed by André de la Varre. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film at the 29th Academy Awards.

Silent Shakespeare

June 2000 •English

A BFI collection of 7 short films from the USA, England and Italy scored for Piano, Guitar and String Quartet.

Cabeza y corazón

December 2023 •Spanish

The Station

January 1952 •Italian

A day in the life of a train station.

Seven More Stations

December 1948 •English

A film about the expansion of the Central Line beyond Stratford.

Opening of the Kiel Canal

June 1895 •English

The opening of the Kiel Canal in Germany by Kaiser Wilhelm II on 20 June 1895.

The Ability Exchange

September 2016 •English

A documentary about an innovative Disability Studies class at NYU Tandon School of Engineering where engineering students and adults with cerebral palsy learn to communicate, connect, and cultivate their abilities by making movies.

Champions

September 2020 •French

Champions is a documentary in which filmmaker Helgi Piccinin follows the quests of his autistic brother Stéphane and his atypical friend Audrey. Born with an intellectual difference, Stéphane and Audrey want to prove to the world that they too can win medals. For three intense years marked by training and competitions, we follow them until the end of their ambitious dream, that of competing at the Special Olympics World Games in Dubai. Intertwining both sports odyssey and human portrait, this feel-good documentary offers an immersion into a fascinating world where athletes with an intellectual difference are at the forefront.

Moon Rockets

June 1947 •English

This short is one of Paramount's "Popular Science" series (number L6-5, or the fifth one of the 1946-47 production season) and begins by showing moon rockets, weighing 30 tons, a flight in the ionosphere, with mounted color cameras recording pictures hundreds of miles above the earth. Coming back to earth, it discourses on modern bathroom fixtures, and then demonstrates a one-man hay-bailer.

One Got Fat

December 1963 •English

This bicycle-safety film shows children what can happen when bicycles are driven carelessly and recklessly.

My Way to Olympia

October 2013 •English

The film director Niko von Glasow undertakes a journey to athletes, who compete at the Paralympic Games in London 2012. He himself is a short-armed avowed hater of sport who cannot understand how anyone could take on such an odeal voluntarily. Even more since everyday life for people with a disability is most often challenging enough. He meets U.S.archer Matt Stutzman, Norwegian table tennis player Aida Dahlen, German swimmer Christiane Reppe, Greek boccia player Greg Polychronidis and a Sitting Volleyball team. Niko neither spares the athletes nor himself asking questions about life, sport and fears. With an ever growing appreciation for sport Niko attends the Paralympic Games and travels back to the ancient city of Olympia, where everything began and where boccia playing is prohibited.

Around China with a Movie Camera

July 2016 •English

A new film compiled from the BFI National Archive's unparalleled holdings of early films of China, features films from 1900-48 filmed across China. The cinematic journey of Around China with a Movie Camera contains many films which may never have been seen in China, or at the very least not for over 70 years. These travelogues, newsreels and home movies were made by a diverse group of British and French filmmakers, some professionals, but mainly enthusiastic amateurs, including intrepid tourists, colonial-era expatriates and Christian missionaries.

How Animated Cartoons Are Made

September 1919 •English

Wallace Carlson walks viewers through the production of an animated short at Bray Studios.

Nanook of the North

June 1922 •English

This pioneering documentary film depicts the lives of the indigenous Inuit people of Canada's northern Quebec region. Although the production contains some fictional elements, it vividly shows how its resourceful subjects survive in such a harsh climate, revealing how they construct their igloo homes and find food by hunting and fishing. The film also captures the beautiful, if unforgiving, frozen landscape of the Great White North, far removed from conventional civilization.

Cavalcade of Dance

October 1943 •English

Ballroom dancers Veloz and Yolanda perform the various dance fads of the first half of the twentieth century.

Greta Garbo: The Temptress and the Clown

January 1986 •English

Two part biography of Greta Garbo - 1. The Temptress 2. The Clown. Reminiscences of her early life in Stockholm, with excerpts from her films. Narrated by Bibi Andersson.