Britain on Film: Coast and Sea

An archival journey along the the coast and on the seas

As well as a season of coastal events Britain on Film: Coast and Sea is an online collection of over 600 newly digitised films, ranging from 1898 to 2000, from the BFI National Archive and the UK’s national and regional film and TV archives, spanning the whole of the UK, available (mostly) for free on BFI Player via an interactive map. With the click of a mouse viewers can plot their own course, circumnavigating over 11,000 miles of varied coastline through film, from the southernmost tip of the Scilly Isles to the northernmost reaches of the Shetland Islands, to search and explore locations which hold a deeply personal connection, or collective concerns which occupy us a whole; leisure, industry, environmentalism, the weather. 

ABOUT

Britain on Film: Coast and Sea was part of Britain on Film, a major project from the BFI National Archive, Regional and National Archives and rights holders from across the UK that revealed new and unseen stories of our lives through the history of film. As part of a major programme of digitisation (2012-2017) Britain on Film is supported by Unlocking Film Heritage awarding funds from The National Lottery.