Colonial Reels: Histories and Afterlives of Colonial Film Collections

A project to delve deeply into four colonial film collections created in the British empire, when film became a powerful means of official and unofficial record that is yet to have wider focus in histories of British cinema.

Colonial Reels: Histories and Afterlives of Colonial Film Collections examines the vast but often overlooked film archives created during the British Empire. From the 1920s to the 1980s, cameras recorded the work and lives of colonial officers, missionaries, doctors, engineers, and their families. They also captured the lives of colonised peoples, local workers, and communities. These films were not neutral records: they helped to shape and legitimise the image of empire, embedding ideas about race, culture, and power that still echo today. By focusing on four major collections:

  • British Empire and Commonwealth Collection
  • British Film Institute
  • Royal Anthropological Institute
  • Wellcome Collection

the project seeks to critically reframe these neglected archives and their role in Britain’s imperial history.

The research investigates how colonial films were produced, circulated, and used, situating them within the broader infrastructures and technologies of empire. It examines the people who made these films and the narratives they constructed, paying close attention to how they represented colonised societies. In doing so, the project challenges conventional film histories that have prioritised official productions, expanding understanding of the unofficial and everyday ways film functioned as a tool of empire. It also asks what it means to encounter these films today, and how their imagery continues to shape perceptions of colonialism and its legacies.

Alongside its archival work, Colonial Reels fosters critical engagement through public events, workshops, screenings, and exhibitions in India, South Africa, and the UK. By bringing together scholars, filmmakers, artists, and wider audiences, the project creates a forum to debate questions of decolonisation, restitution, and the responsibilities of archives in the present to create pathways to access. In opening up these collections, it not only deepens historical knowledge of film and empire but also invites new, critical conversations about the afterlives of colonial imagery in the contemporary world.

Colonial Reels Project Team