Inside the Archive Exhibition - The Harris

The BFI National Archive looks after one of the largest and most important collections of film and television in the world. Its teams of experts ensure that the collections are preserved and developed for future generations and made widely accessible to today’s audiences. This multimedia installation enables visitors to explore this work and learn about the people who make it possible.

One of the Archive’s most famous collections is Mitchell & Kenyon’s Edwardian Britain. These amazing films, lost for at least 80 years, offer something close to time travel. Miraculously discovered in a basement in 1994, the films provide stunning images of ordinary life in late-Victorian and Edwardian Britain.

As part of the Inside the Archive Exhibition, the BFI National Archive is delighted to bring a selection of these films home to the city in which they were filmed. Capturing factory workers, churchgoers, schoolchildren, sportsmen and spectators across Preston, these relaxed Edwardians laugh, grin and point at the camera - brought back to life, as no painting or photograph ever could.

Alongside the exhibition there will be a panel discussion on Thursday, 22 October following a screening of Threads of Memory by Juliana Kasumu.

Inside the Archive is supported by the BFI Screen Heritage Fund, awarding National Lottery Good Cause Funding.