Subscribe today using voucher code SUMMER22 for an extended free trial

Free

Women with a Movie Camera

Great films incite, others vex, a few elate. From pre-war to the present day, these remarkable works by international women directors do all that and more.

The place of female filmmakers in cinema history demands correction, and the future looks bright. Keep up with this dedicated collection.

Read more Close
Watch for free

The Body BeautifulThe Body Beautiful

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1990 24 mins

Autobiographical account of a mother-daughter relationship, exploring beauty standards and female sexuality.

Watch for free

Flight of the SwanFlight of the Swan

Drama 1992 12 mins

A young black ballerina rejects prejudice and finds her African spirit in Swan Lake.

Watch for free

White Men Are Cracking UpWhite Men Are Cracking Up

Drama 1994 20 mins

The fatal fascination with the myth of the black feminine mystique is uncovered in Ngozi Onwurah's short

Currently unavailable

I'm British But...I'm British But...

Documentary 1989 29 minsDirector: Gurinder Chadha

Britain beats to the sound of Bhangra and Bangla in Gurinder Chadha's debut film.

Watch for free

Around the Village GreenAround the Village Green

Travelogue 1937 12 mins Location: Finchingfield

Rural life in the Essex villages of Finchingfield and Great Bardfield - and the mixed reactions of older residents to changing times.

Watch for free

So This Is LondonSo This Is London

Documentary 1933 14 minsSilent Location: Westminster

London at its best? This gorgeous lyrical portrait was made by pioneering female director Marion Grierson.

Watch for free

Tunde's FilmTunde's Film

Documentary drama 1974 40 mins Location: Stepney

Tired of being hassled by the police and with no job opportunities, a group of teenage East End lads plan to rob a bank.

Watch for free

Black to FrontBlack to Front

Current affairs 1978 27 mins Location: Brixton

World in Action interviews the residents of Haycroft Road, Brixton as a controversial by-election stokes concerns about race and immigration.

Watch for free

Cedar Wood & SilkCedar Wood & Silk

1995 14 mins

Insightful exploration of the relationship between a Jamaican mother and her British-born daughter.

Watch for free

Today We LiveToday We Live

Documentary 1937 24 mins Location: South Cerney

A key social issues film documentary from the British Documentary Movement, this two-part film follows the establishment of social enterprises in England and Wales.

Watch for free

Dover, Spring 1947Dover, Spring 1947

Documentary 1947 11 mins Location: Dover

Dover gets a makeover in this offbeat and pointed public information film.

Watch for free

HedgingHedging

Documentary 1942 9 mins Location: Moulton

Is your hedge thin and straggly? Don't worry, help is at hand

Watch for free

Fair RentFair Rent

Documentary 1947 11 mins Location: Aberdeen

Power cuts, housing shortages and exorbitant rents – Aberdeen man Norrie Williamson goes head to head with his greedy landlady

Watch for free

Frida Kahlo & Tina ModottiFrida Kahlo & Tina Modotti

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1983 30 mins

Immerse yourself in the work of Frida Kahlo and Tina Modotti - icons of the Mexican Renaissance.

Watch for free

An Exchange for Fire: Sacrifice (Film London Jarman Award 2012)An Exchange for Fire: Sacrifice (Film London Jarman Award 2012)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2012 3 mins

Anja Kirschner and David Panos investigate the financial crisis from its European epicentre - Greece.

Watch for free

The Necromancers (Film London Jarman Award 2010)The Necromancers (Film London Jarman Award 2010)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2010 3 mins

Theatre director Steve Pearl talks about his chance meetings with a female ventriloquist.

Watch for free

An Exchange for Fire: Debt (Film London Jarman Award 2012)An Exchange for Fire: Debt (Film London Jarman Award 2012)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2013 3 mins

The concluding episode in Anja Kirschner and David Panos' series of films on the Greek financial crisis.

Watch for free

An Exchange for Fire: Non-Citizens (Film London Jarman Award 2012)An Exchange for Fire: Non-Citizens (Film London Jarman Award 2012)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2012 3 mins

The global financial crisis viewed through the prism of modern Greece.

Watch for free

The Paramnesiac (Film London Jarman Award 2010)The Paramnesiac (Film London Jarman Award 2010)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2010 4 mins

The instability of memory comes to the fore when artist Lindsay Seers' step-sister Christine is involved in a moped accident which severely damages her memory.

Watch for free

Serios/Seers (Film London Jarman Award 2010)Serios/Seers (Film London Jarman Award 2010)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2010 3 mins

Writer M. Anthony Penwill, an occult photography expert, recalls how his meeting with Ted Serios led him to encounter the artist Lindsay Seers.

Watch for free

Carlyle's Hands 1 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)Carlyle's Hands 1 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 3 mins

Eitienne, a neuroscientist who is working around ideas of self awareness, is haunted by his patient, who he calls 'Marathon Man' a man who cannot move his own body unless he sees it.

Watch for free

Carlyle's Hands 2 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)Carlyle's Hands 2 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 3 mins

In the second in the series of Emily Wardill films, Eitienne the neuroscientist meets Georgia, a woman with whom he is able to connect and they fall in love.

Watch for free

Carlyle's Hands 3 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)Carlyle's Hands 3 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 3 mins

Eitienne's dates with different women explore proprioception through a contemporary situation.

Currently unavailable

FootstepsFootsteps

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 6 mins

Actor and cameraman engage in a game of β€˜grandmother’s footsteps’ in a playfully delightful film.

Watch for free

Carlyle's Hands 4 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)Carlyle's Hands 4 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 3 mins

Eitienne the neuroscientist delivers a lecture to students that explores ideas of self-awareness.

Watch for free

Carlyle's Hands 5 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)Carlyle's Hands 5 (Film London Jarman Award 2011)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 3 mins

An overworked neuroscientist is encouraged to begin online dating.

Currently unavailable

Real TimeReal Time

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 33 mins

As she recollects her childhood, the filmmaker reflects on time, family and ageing.

Currently unavailable

Muybridge FilmMuybridge Film

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 4 minsSilent

Anne Rees-Mogg pays tribute to Muybridge’s studies of human motion with this portrait of filmmaker Renny Croft.

Currently unavailable

A Length of TimeA Length of Time

1970 22 mins

A documentary on life, filmic time and stock car racing.

Currently unavailable

FociiFocii

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 9 minsSilent

A female dancer performs in front of what appears to be a wall of mirrors until her reflection takes on a life of its own.

Currently unavailable

Guerillere TalksGuerillere Talks

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 24 mins

Six film portraits of women associated with the punk music scene in 1970s New York.

Currently unavailable

Tea LeafTea Leaf

Documentary 1988 8 mins

An intimate account of frustration and disarray in 1980s Britain from the point of view of a young woman.

Watch for free

EdinburghEdinburgh

Documentary 1934 10 minsSilent Location: Edinburgh

Bonnie Edinburgh - a picturesque promotional film to attract tourists to the Scottish capital

Watch for free

The London StoryThe London Story

Comedy 1986 16 mins Location: Waterloo Sta

Sally Potter's lively dance film about spies and government intrigue.

Currently unavailable

The Garden of EatingThe Garden of Eating

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 3 mins

A stop-motion collage film that constructs a garden out of flowers, candles, plastic cellophane and food

Watch for free

Never Go with StrangersNever Go with Strangers

Documentary 1971 18 mins

Is this the scariest public information film ever? This hard-hitting warning against 'stranger danger' was considered too distressing to be broadcast on television.

Watch for free

Near HomeNear Home

Government sponsored film 1949 24 mins Location: Bishop Auckland

A rare outing for a 1945 drama documentary on local studies education in Bishop Auckland by one of Britain's pioneering women directors.

Watch for free

Plan to Work OnPlan to Work On

Documentary 1948 33 mins Location: Dunfermline

Kay Mander's film about the planning for Dunfermline’s post-war reconstruction is a fascinating record of the idealism of mid-20th-century town planning.

Watch for free

Quiet MorningQuiet Morning

School programme and Educational film 1955 11 mins Location: Finchley

Everyday family life in suburban North London - as seen by folk learning English in the 1950s.

Currently unavailable

The Christmas VisitorThe Christmas Visitor

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1958 7 mins

The Night Before Christmas meets Toy Story in this charming British cartoon from 1958.

Watch for free

Cycling Proficiency Scheme: Father and SonCycling Proficiency Scheme: Father and Son

Advert 1959 1 mins

"Dad... I want a bike!” Fun animated campaign aimed at 50s parents and their over-eager offspring.

Watch for free

Carnival in the Clothes CupboardCarnival in the Clothes Cupboard

Advert 1941 6 mins

A cartoon fantasy brings fabric patterns to life in a literal soap opera - yet even here the reality of Home Front life creeps in

Watch for free

Charley's Black MagicCharley's Black Magic

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1949 9 mins

Cartoon propaganda short sweetens the pill of post-war coal prices by promising jam tomorrow

Watch for free

Cold ComfortCold Comfort

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1944 1 mins

A dancing radio stops partying to transmit an announcement on fuel conservation in this WWII cartoon short

Watch for free

Compost HeapCompost Heap

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1942 2 mins

A talking cabbage plant will win you over in this Second World War cartoon trailer, which has a surprising charm.

Watch for free

4 and 20 Fit Girls4 and 20 Fit Girls

1940 11 minsSilent

Flock to your local keep fit class - there's a war on and Britain needs its citizens in tip-top shape.

Watch for free

Nursery IslandNursery Island

Documentary 1936 18 mins Location: Farne Islands

The birdlife of Northumberland's Farne Islands comes under the spotlight in this pioneering documentary from the Secrets of Life nature series.

Watch for free

Wisdom of the WildWisdom of the Wild

Documentary 1940 12 mins

Fun mixture of natural history and wartime public information.

Watch for free

London PigeonLondon Pigeon

Documentary 1940 9 mins Location: Westminster

Urban nature explored in this wonderful short film looking at the lives, habits and habitats of London’s pigeon population.

Watch for free

Market TownMarket Town

Travelogue 1942 10 mins Location: Newark-on-Trent

Rise and shine! Newark market calls with a seductive array of produce.

Watch for free

Mrs. T. And Her Cabbage PatchMrs. T. And Her Cabbage Patch

Public Information Filler 1941 12 mins

Poetic tribute to Mrs Turner's vegetable growing prowess, plus the delights of "wartime steaks"

Watch for free

Civilian FrontCivilian Front

War 1940 10 mins

It's all action on the home front with civilians on high alert to support the war effort.

Watch for free

Double ThreadDouble Thread

Documentary 1943 33 mins Location: Guildford

The Secret Life of 4 Year Olds (1940s-style) at a nursery in Guildford.

Watch for free

The Way We LiveThe Way We Live

War 1946 64 mins Location: Plymouth

This stylish film shows the cramped life of one family in post-war Plymouth, and expands on the contentious plans for the city's rebuilding.

Watch for free

Out of ChaosOut of Chaos

Documentary 1944 27 mins Location: Trafalgar Square

"Why in the height of a world war, should there be this terrific interest in painting?"

Watch for free

Once We Were FourOnce We Were Four

Documentary 1942 9 mins

Innocent bunnies face an onslaught of badgers, bombs and birds of prey in this black comedy masquerading as a nature film.

Watch for free

Boy and the CatBoy and the Cat

Amateur film 1976 10 mins Location: South Shields

A boy and his cat make mischief in the snow at South Shields in this captivating hand-drawn childrens animation created by Sheila Graber.

Watch for free

Toys Will Be ToysToys Will Be Toys

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1988 5 mins Location: South Shields

Barbie dolls in pink battle khaki killing machines in a Christmas animation that cocks a snook at the β€œDisney Doctrine”.

Watch for free

Christmas Around the WorldChristmas Around the World

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1978 5 mins Location: South Shields

Chomping alligators, a boomerang throwing kangaroo, a turkey in Turkey, and an angry lion, all mollified by a world touring, bumbling Santa.

Watch for free

The Twelve Days of ChristmasThe Twelve Days of Christmas

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 4 mins Location: South Shields

A classic Christmas carol brought joyously to life in this engaging and colourful Sheila Graber animation, with help from her school class.

Watch for free

Larn Yersel' GeordieLarn Yersel' Geordie

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 11 mins Location: Newcastle upon Tyne

Learn how to speak Geordie with a riotous animation of Scott Dobsons popular vernacular lessons.

Watch for free

My River TyneMy River Tyne

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 7 mins Location: South Shields

An unusual mix of pastel, photos, film and line drawings conjures a story of the River Tyne, from its source at the Scottish border to its mouth at South Shields.

Watch for free

Howway the LassesHowway the Lasses

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1977 1 mins Location: Northumberland

This jaunty hand-drawn animation charts the history of womens revolutionary road to freedom in the North East - from Stone Age sister to suffragette of the twentieth century.

Watch for free

Somersetshire Dairy FarmingSomersetshire Dairy Farming

1937 12 mins Location: Bleadon

Milky movie: close-up on Somerset's changing milk and cheese industry

Watch for free

Bri-nylon and bri-lon at the Royal Albert HallBri-nylon and bri-lon at the Royal Albert Hall

Promotional 1961 7 mins Location: Royal Albert Hall

A parade of colourful fashions wearing their synthetic brand with pride

Watch for free

A Family Called AbrewA Family Called Abrew

Biopic 1992 40 mins

Meet the Abrews, a unique showbiz family whose imprint on British culture began in Scotland in the 19th century

Watch for free

Home Away from HomeHome Away from Home

1993 11 mins

A powerfully bittersweet image of the loneliness and sacrifice in migration stories, centred on a Nigerian-British family

Currently unavailable

Welcome/AdieuWelcome/Adieu

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1983 3 mins

Victorian lantern slides and a β€˜patriotic’ rendering of God Save the Queen

Currently unavailable

Sentimental JourneySentimental Journey

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1977 34 mins

A poetic tutorial about how to make an experimental film

Currently unavailable

Nothing Is SomethingNothing Is Something

1966 9 mins

The delicate everyday beauty of soap bubbles, moving water and rainbow reflections.

Currently unavailable

Living MemoryLiving Memory

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 39 mins

The filmmaker revisits the landscape of her youth and her memory of it

Currently unavailable

Grandfather's FootstepsGrandfather's Footsteps

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1983 36 mins

The filmmaker re-evokes the presence of her great-grandfather, Henry Stiles Savory, a Victorian clergyman, photographer and scientist.

Currently unavailable

TransmogrificationTransmogrification

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 9 mins

Two girls become 18th century ladies in this short film about the assumption of roles.

Watch for free

Lady LazarusLady Lazarus

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1991 24 mins

A cinematographic response to Sylvia Plath’s Lady Lazarus with Plath’s own readings of her poetry

Currently unavailable

EerieEerie

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1992 1 mins

A vertiginous lesbian kiss in a mountain cablecar inspired by German expressionism.

Currently unavailable

ArrowsArrows

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1984 16 mins

A first-person essay on the experience of anorexia and its cultural causes

Currently unavailable

Uranium HexUranium Hex

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 12 mins

Uranium mining in Canada and the destruction of the environment

Currently unavailable

Plutonium BlondePlutonium Blonde

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 16 mins

A fractured narrative on a female worker at a plutonium terminal

Watch for free

Ebb-tideEbb-tide

Documentary 1936 9 mins Location: Millport

Go with the flow: the marine life of Millport, Ayrshire, ingeniously filmed.

Currently unavailable

TerminalsTerminals

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1985 20 mins

A filmic exploration of the working conditions of female nuclear workers.

Currently unavailable

Serpent RiverSerpent River

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 32 mins

An anti-nuclear film on a community living in proximity to uranium mines in Canada.

Currently unavailable

FireworksFireworks

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 3 minsSilent

Images of fireworks superimposed in the camera and in the optical printer

Currently unavailable

CloudsClouds

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1975 3 minsSilent

Clouds filmed from a moving car producing the illusion of space within the frame

Currently unavailable

Still LifeStill Life

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 5 minsSilent

A traditional β€˜still life’ serves as subject for a film on colour transformation

Currently unavailable

The Ten Commandments of LoveThe Ten Commandments of Love

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 4 mins

An impassioned embrace on an ocean pier to 'The Ten Commandments of Love'.

Currently unavailable

Light MusicLight Music

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 31 mins

Classic expanded cinema work that proposes a direct relationship between the sonic and the visual.

Currently unavailable

The Pecking OrderThe Pecking Order

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 5 mins

A beautifully painted animated critique of modern intensive farming methods

Currently unavailable

ReturningReturning

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1980 7 mins

Looking outside and looking back in the same moment; the collision of memory and reluctance.

Currently unavailable

She SaidShe Said

1983 27 mins

A film on the theme of women’s work and free time

Currently unavailable

"Now I Am Yours""Now I Am Yours"

Documentary 1993 33 mins

Extreme state of religious and sexual ecstasy in this film on the figure of Saint Teresa

Currently unavailable

JourneyJourney

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1976 4 mins

Reveries during a train journey are suggested though montage

Currently unavailable

GG

1979 5 mins

A reflection on the relationship between language and work

Currently unavailable

Three PacesThree Paces

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 14 mins

An urban fairy tale where myth and reality constantly collide

Currently unavailable

SwanSwan

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 3 minsSilent

Close-up images of a white swan as it prepares for flight

Currently unavailable

Durga (A Ritual)Durga (A Ritual)

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 23 mins

Meaning is built through repetition in this filmic meditation of sexuality, loss and rebirth.

Currently unavailable

UnfoldingUnfolding

1987 15 mins

A council launderette as a site of oppression and possible resistance

Currently unavailable

Fatima's LetterFatima's Letter

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1992 20 mins

A woman remembers her past while travelling on the London Underground

Currently unavailable

ChameleonChameleon

1990 5 mins

A woman searches through an interior landscape, where she is both trapped and contained

Currently unavailable

A NosegayA Nosegay

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1986 17 mins

A homoerotic homage to Genet and LautrΓ©amont with an angel and a hermaphrodite.

Currently unavailable

L'Ange FrΓ©nΓ©tiqueL'Ange FrΓ©nΓ©tique

1986 5 mins

A study of frustration and insolence featuring an epicene angel played by Cerith Wyn Evans

Currently unavailable

SnigSnig

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 5 mins

A young woman shakes eels out from between the sheets of a bed.

Currently unavailable

DeckDeck

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 14 mins

A reel of 8mm film undergoes a mysterious transformation through refilming, colour changing and printing

Currently unavailable

Light Occupations: Lens and Mirror FilmLight Occupations: Lens and Mirror Film

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 3 mins

Playful investigation of the filmic equipment, particularly camera and projector

Currently unavailable

Lens Hand FootLens Hand Foot

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1973 3 minsSilent

The filmmaker explores the relationship of her own body to the filmmaking apparatus

Currently unavailable

The Cat and the Woman, A Cautionary TaleThe Cat and the Woman, A Cautionary Tale

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 2 mins

A woman loses her head to a cat in return for a man.

Currently unavailable

Red SeaRed Sea

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 6 minsSilent

Spring tides and menstrual cycles at the full and new moon

Currently unavailable

MysteriesMysteries

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 7 minsSilent

A photomontage film that offers an interpretation of the mystery of the harvest.

Currently unavailable

Free ShowFree Show

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1979 17 mins

Three potentially violent domestic activities performed by a woman.

Currently unavailable

Thinking TwiceThinking Twice

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1997 10 mins

A film which attempts to reflect the rigour of the music featuring pianist Katharina Wolpe.

Currently unavailable

Milk and GlassMilk and Glass

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1993 9 mins

Boundaries are blurred as images of a woman’s body are projected onto domestic objects

Currently unavailable

Hide & SeekHide & Seek

1987 15 mins

A metaphorical and lyrical journey of discovery through childhood memories

Currently unavailable

ImaginaryImaginary

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 16 mins

A film in three parts shot in varying intimate and personal environments.

Currently unavailable

Looking for the MoonLooking for the Moon

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 5 minsSilent

Tentative gestures of hands and body become symbolic of trust and the need to escape

Currently unavailable

That’s Entertainment/The Conjuror’s AssistantsThat’s Entertainment/The Conjuror’s Assistants

Documentary 1978 23 mins

Frame by frame analysis of documentary footage taken at a children’s Christmas party.

Currently unavailable

Stabat MaterStabat Mater

Drama 1990 8 mins

An exultant journey through the emotional landscape of the filmmaker’s native Gibraltar.

Currently unavailable

Close to HomeClose to Home

Documentary 1985 28 mins

An image of freedom and the melancholy of parting in this film about Gibraltar

Currently unavailable

TracksTracks

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1989 28 mins

A feminist collage/essay film that takes a critical look at certain feminist theories.

More Women with a Movie Camera in our Rentals collection.

More from Women with a Movie Camera films in our Subscription collection.