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Britain emerged from war a changed country, facing new social, industrial and cultural challenges. Its documentary film tradition – established in the 1930s and 1940s around legendary figures such as Grierson, Rotha and Jennings – continued evolving, utilising technical advances, displaying robust aesthetic concerns, and benefiting from the entry into the industry of wealthy commercial sponsors. Thousands of films were seen by millions worldwide. Received wisdom has been that British documentary went into swift decline after the war, resurrected only by Free Cinema and the arrival of television documentary. Shadows of Progress demolishes these simplistic assumptions, presenting instead a complex and nuanced picture of the sponsored documentary in flux. Patrick Russell and James Piers Taylor explore the reasons for the period's critical neglect, and address the sponsorship, production, distribution and key themes of British documentary. They paint a vivid picture of institutions – from public bodies to multinational industries – constantly redefining their relationships with film as a form of enlightened public relations. Many of the issues that these films addressed could not be more topical today: the rise of environmentalism; the balance of state and industry, individual and community; a nation and a world travelling from bust to boom and back again. In the second part of the book, contributors from the curatorial and academic world provide career biographies of key film-makers of the period. From Lindsay Anderson's lesser-known early career to neglected film-makers like John Krish, Sarah Erulkar, Eric Marquis and Derrick Knight, a kaleidoscopic picture is built up of the myriad relationships of artist and sponsor.

Ever since John Grierson popularized the term'documentary,'British non-fiction film has been renowned, sometimes reviled, but seldom properly appreciated.'100 British Documentaries'provides a uniquely accessible, occasionally provocative introduction to a rich and surprisingly varied tradition by considering 100 examples taken from across a century's worth of output. The 100 films range from the Victorian period to the present day. Alongside such classics as'Night Mail'and'Touching the Void'are documentaries that illustrate the many uses to which it has been put from pro-gram-filler to political propaganda to classroom teaching aid and the many styles and viewpoints it has embraced. While the focus is on the documentary'film,'several television productions are included, indicating how the genre has developed on the small screen.

The Lost World of Mitchell and Kenyon'contains essays from leading historians covering film history, popular entertainment, the seaside, transport and the social and economic context of Edwardian Britain. Together they provide a vivid commentary on the Peter Worden Mitchell and Kenyon collection of films.