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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Cedar Wood & SilkCedar Wood & Silk

1995 14 mins

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

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Dover, Spring 1947Dover, Spring 1947

Documentary 1947 11 mins Location: Dover

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

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HedgingHedging

Documentary 1942 9 mins Location: Moulton

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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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FootstepsFootsteps

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1974 6 mins

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

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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.

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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.

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Real TimeReal Time

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1971 33 mins

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

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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.

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A Length of TimeA Length of Time

1970 22 mins

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Exhibition (Q&A)Exhibition (Q&A)

Inside Film 2013 14 mins

Director Joanna Hogg and ex-Slits guitarist Viv Albertine discuss their experiences filming Exhibition

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The London StoryThe London Story

Comedy 1986 16 mins Location: Waterloo Sta

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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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Wisdom of the WildWisdom of the Wild

Documentary 1940 12 mins

Fun mixture of natural history and wartime public information.

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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.

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Market TownMarket Town

Travelogue 1942 10 mins Location: Newark-on-Trent

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

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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"

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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.

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Double ThreadDouble Thread

Documentary 1943 33 mins Location: Guildford

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

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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.

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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?"

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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.

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TogetherTogether

Animation & Artists Moving Image 1956 48 minsDirector: Lorenza Mazzetti

Two deaf-mute dock workers eke out a humble East End existence in Lorenza Mazzetti's striking and poetic example of Free Cinema.