British Film Institute to release 'Rural Life', a look into rural times of the past

Moco Farm in the 1920's (Picture: Swanbourne History)
Moco Farm in the 1920's (Picture: Swanbourne History)

This month, the British Film Institute (BFI) is set to announce Rural Life, the release of 850 archive titles to contribute to the hugely successful Britain on Film.

Naturally, farming is at the very heart of rural Britain and will be featured throughout these titles with footage dating back to 1904 covering all seasons, regions and techniques.

The films in Rural Life serve as a record of the disappearing British countryside allowing viewers to take a trip into the heart of the British countryside with BFI Player’s new discoveries of rural film-making.

Viewers will be able to enjoy a journey through time-honoured traditions in ancient landscapes, a time before the internet, capturing village life and its rhythms from farming to planting and harvesting, .

The footage, mostly unseen, is from the BFI National Archive, regional and national archives with content spanning across the country allowing everyone to explore Britain’s rural past through the revolutionary Britain on Film map, which details every inch of the UK.

Rural Life is an important contribution to Britain on Film, in which 10,000 film and TV titles will be digitised and made available for the first time ever via BFI Player.

Since its launch last year, over 5 million people are using Britain on Film and there are 5,000 films online to view marking the half-way point for Britain on Film’s objective.