Box of Light - Mediatheque playlist

If you're in the Library for Box of Light this weekend, you may want to venture up to the third floor and check out the BFI Mediatheque. Thousands of hours of British film heritage can be hoovered up here for free, including a number of films relevant to the themes of Box of Light...

The Films of George Albert Smith Lanternist turned pioneer filmmaker who set up his own film studio in Brighton. Many of his films include lanternish effects and transitions...

THE X RAY FIEND (GA Smith, 1897)

SANTA CLAUS (GA Smith, 1898, pictured)

A KISS IN THE TUNNEL (GA Smith, 1899, below)

Mitchell and Kenyon in the Midlands Astonishing collection of 1900s films discovered in a Blackburn basement in the 1990s. Commissioned by showmen to drum up an audience for their events, these include a number of Birmingham scenes. (Plenty more of these can be found at our Library screening on Sunday.)

BIRMINGHAM UNIVERSITY PROCESSION (Mitchell & Kenyon, 1901)

BLUE COAT CHILDREN MARCHING TO CURZON HALL (Mitchell & Kenyon 1901)

LADY GODIVA PROCESSION (Mitchell & Kenyon, 1902)

Other 1900s films

MARLEY’S GHOST (Robert W Paul, 1901)

ALICE IN WONDERLAND (Cecil Hepworth, 1903)

THE ACROBATIC FLY (Percy Smith, 1910)

...And if you want to go slightly more up-to-date, you could argue that the wry narrative travelogue of TELLY SAVALAS LOOKS AT BIRMINGHAM is a lantern show of sorts. Some of the film links above are to the BFI Player, launched last month and also chockful of free archive gems.