The Story of Film part 11: Innovation in Popular Culture Around the World

An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.

John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.

John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.

John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.  

Relive the stratospheric rise of the kings of Britpop in this rousing nostalgic trip from the producers of Amy.

Documentary portrait of the mercurial football genius who inspired the game’s modern renaissance while battling personal demons.

Lyrical tribute to the moving image begins with an establishing shot: the birth of the movies - spanning 1895 to 1918.

The 1920s. Moving between Hollywood, Denmark and Moscow, Mark Cousins shows how glamour and gravitas battled to define film.

Testing the limits of cinema, German Expressionism, Soviet montage and other international movements are launched.

The Talkies begin, bringing new genres and new masters like Hawks and Hitchcock. Written and presented by Mark Cousins.

Between 1939-1952, cinema got darker - reflecting the tumult and carnage of war – and more daring. Mark Cousins investigates.

The story reaches the 1950s. Cinema across the world is dominated by melodrama and sex proves to be big business.

Mark Cousins re-examines the vast filmography and legacy of one of the 20th century’s greatest filmmakers, through a new lens: the auteur’s own voice.

Mark Cousins returns with another journey across the landscape of film, examining what changes the 21st century has brought.

Mark Cousins’ personal meditation on the power of looking.

The journey ends with the biggest themes of love, death and the meaning of life.

Melodrama, memory, classic genres and tense emotions come under the spotlight in the fourth part of Mark Cousins' sprawling opus.

Sex, religion and politics are among the themes in the third part of Mark Cousins' monumental documentary on women's cinema.

An extraordinary story of survival in the wastes of Antarctica.

A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthami’s gripping, pitch-black satire.

John Pilger's film on the conflict in Northern Ireland is a skilful mix of investigative journalism, documentary storytelling and reflections on contemporary history.

John Pilger's portrayal of the oldest continuous human culture is also an investigation into a suppressed colonial past, and rapacious present.

John Pilger’s prescient 60th film for ITV is both a warning and an inspiring story of resistance.  

Teenage romance simmers in a strict Himalayan boarding school in this sublime coming-of-age tale. Winner of the 2024 Sundance audience prize.