Before Midnight - A Portrait of India on Film, 1899–1947

Sunday 18th May | 2.00pm | book tickets

1hr 20.  India.  English subtitles.

At the stroke of midnight on 14/15 August 1947 India finally achieved independence from Britain. Sixty years on, Before Midnight offers access to an unparalleled collection of films from the BFI National Archive exploring life in India during the early 20th century.  Some of the most potent records are to be found in the home movies – many of which are being made publicly available for the first time. The Maharajah of Jodhpur’s home movies provide an epic portrait of princely power in the 1940s, whilst those of the Craster family offer an intimate picture of British family life. Featuring over 25 films and extracts the programme takes us on a journey from the Northwest Frontier to Lahore, Rajasthan to Darjeeling and beyond. Before Midnight offers an unrivalled portrait of how lives — both Indian and British — were led across the Subcontinent.

Titles within the programme (please note this list is subject to change)

Panorama of Calcutta 1899, Coronation Durbar at Delhi 1903, Commissioner Higgins Visits Ahmedabad Girls' School 1904, Birthday Procession of a Maharjah 1905, An Indian Washing the Baby 1906, A Native Street in India 1906, Cinghalese Dances 1910, Native Life in Ceylon 1910, Delhi Durbar 1911, Sword Dance Performed Before the King and Queen in India 1912, The Wonderful Fruit of the Tropics 1914, Calcutta Topical No. 1
1925, Scenes at his Excellency the Viceroy's Garden Party at Belvedere 1926, A Punjab Village 1925, The North West Frontier 1928, The Home Movies of T. Burtt 1933, Craster Family Home Movies c1933, A Foot-hill Town 1937, Delhi 1938, Temples of India 1938, A Road in India 1938, In Rural Maharashtra 1940, The Maharajah of Jodhpur's Home Movies c1947, Tins for India 1941, Clarmont Skrine's Home Movies c1946, G. Mackrell's Home Movies c1947, Noakhali March 1946.