From a 1910 suffragette demonstration to striking coal miners in the Rhondda Valley, from female CND protesters spanning the Tamar Bridge to the defeat of fascists at London’s Cable Street, this absorbing, illuminating collection examines the nature of protests large and small and for causes regional and national, by participants fighting for suffrage and democracy, against exploitation and inequality, for fair wages and worker’s rights, for public safety, freedom and community and in the face of war and oppression.

Sourced from the national and regional archives and newly digitised, Britain on Film: Protest! tells a story not just about specific protests and their causes, but about a tumultuous century, the constant presence of public dissent and its dynamic effects as a weapon of change – at a time when raising our voices feels more essential than ever.

At a time of intense public activism both at home and across the globe, explore the varied and fascinating history of public protest in the UK with our new archive film programme: Britain on Film: Protest!

Britain on Film on Tour is a series of archive film programmes for your cinema, film club, museum, archive, or community space. After one of the largest pieces of film preservation and restoration ever undertaken, Britain on Film on Tour reveals new and unseen stories from as early as 1897. Working with the British Film Institute, we are now able to make these extraordinary treasures from the UK’s film archives available to the British public for the first time, with a broad range of material opening up local and regional histories from across the UK.

Britain on Film on Tour brings these rarely-seen films directly to audiences through eight specially-curated film programmes.  The tour offers a unique opportunity to enjoy a diverse range of archive films in a collective and communal viewing experience, with the specific programme themes designed to bring this material alive, encouraging enjoyment and engagement, discussion and debate.