Library Home: Film: Home

Getting Started

Not sure where to start?

Have a look at our How To... page for our three part tutorial on getting started with your research. The Starting Your Research in MCL tutorial (Part 2) is tailored to School of Arts subjects including Film.

You will also find guidance on searching Library databases, from some of our database providers.

Essential Resources

Library subscriptions: free with your Roehampton login.

Search these specialist databases to find journal articles, book chapters and other academic research papers in your subject.

Research databases:

Most provide the full text, but sometimes just brief details (citation and abstract) of the articles. Click the Full Text Finder button to see if you can access the full text via our eJournals; if not, you can (usually) order it free via Interlibrary Loan.

Communication and Mass Media
Full-text journal articles in media studies, communication, and other closely-related fields.
Screen Studies Collection
A comprehensive index of current publications related to film studies, plus detailed filmographies. Content includes: International Index to Film Periodicals database (FIAF), American Film Institute (AFI Catalog) and Film Index International.
Academic Search Premier
Full text journals and abstracts in a range of academic disciplines.

Current newspapers and magazines (good for film reviews and interviews):

Nexis UK
Worldwide news and business database.
PressReader
Online access to a vast range of current newspapers and magazines, with over 7,000 titles, from 120+ countries in 60+ languages. To log in while off campus, sign in via Open Athens (select Library or Group, University of Roehampton and then Open Athens). You can also download the PressReader App.

E-book collections with good film studies content:

ACLS Humanities E-Book
Contains over 5,400 ebooks in humanities and related social sciences.
Oxford Handbooks Online
The Oxford Handbooks series brings together the world’s leading scholars to write articles that survey the current state of scholarship in their field. The articles review the key issues, reveal original arguments and concepts, and set the agenda for new research.
VLEbooks
A large collection of eBooks in all subject areas.

Open Access articles

These are free to all on the web, but have been through rigorous academic scrutiny, so you can trust the content. For further recommended titles, see the Film section of our Open Access Guide for the School of Arts.

Alphaville
A peer-reviewed online journal from Film and Screen Media at University College Cork, Ireland.
Another Gaze
A Feminist Film Journal
CINEJ Cinema Journal
A peer-reviewed film studies journal from University of Pittsburgh, USA.
Film-Philosophy
An international, open access academic journal dedicated to film studies and philosophy.
Film and Media Commons
Open access articles.
Film Studies for Free
A web archive of links to free academic content on the subject of film studies.
Frames Cinema Journal
A biannual, peer-reviewed, academic journal for scholars of film, media and screen studies.
In Transition
A peer-reviewed academic journal of videographic film and moving image studies.
MAI: Feminism and Visual Culture
A free, open-access journal for feminist scholars, writers, artists and activists addressing visual culture.
MediaArXiv
The Open Archive for Media, Film, & Communication Studies.
MOVIE: A Journal of Film Criticism
A refereed open access journal from Warwick University.
Open Screens (BAFTSS)
Open access online journal of the British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies.
Research in Film and History
A peer-reviewed online journal from the University of Bremen, Germany.
Reverse Shot
Online magazine of New York's Museum of the Moving Image.
Scope: film and television history, theory and criticism.
Peer-reviewed online journal from the University of Nottingham.
Screening the Past
Open access journal for the history of photography, film, television and multimedia.
Screenworks
A peer-reviewed publication of practice research in film and screen media.
Senses of Cinema
An online journal and podcast devoted to the serious and eclectic discussion of cinema.
Sequence
Experimental, peer-reviewed, media, film and music studies serial, using a sequential edited-collection format.

University subscriptions - free with your Roehampton login.

Archives for Education
Over 200 films from the BFI, BBC and other UK and Irish film archives licensed for creative reuse by film students. Contact Muriel Tinel-Temple (or your tutor/convenor) in UR School of Arts for access details.

BBC Shakespeare Archive Resource
The BBC's archive of their entire output relating to Shakespeare: plays, poems and sonnets, documentaries, interviews, photographs and stills. Licensed only for streamed playback in teaching and research: not available for downloads or redistribution.
KANOPY
Streams thousands of films, documentaries and training videos across a wide range of subjects. Many films have captions, transcripts or subtitles and are compatible with technologies for visual impairment, such as JAWS. Please note, we do not have access to BBC productions via this service but BBC programmes may be available via Rob Roehampton.
ROB Roehampton
A streaming and recording service that allows students and staff to record Freeview TV and radio programmes, as well as create clips and playlists. Users can access the growing archive of all recorded programmes, plus the BBC Digital and Shakespeare Archives.
Theatre Performance and Design Collection
A comprehensive collection of performance videos, audio recordings, and production designs (from sound and lights to sets and costumes).
Content includes: The L.A. Theatre Works Collection of audio plays; BBC Literary Adaptations in Video; National Theatre Collection; Performance Design Archive Online; The Royal Shakespeare Company Collection; Theatre in Context Collection; Theatre in Video: Volumes I & II.

Open Access film sites - free to all on the web

ArtBabble Film
Showcases high quality art-related video content from more than 50 cultural institutions worldwide.
BFI Player
Free shorts and features from 120 years of UK national and regional archives. (Further content available by subscription).
Black and White Movies
British Council Film
Showcase and catalogue of UK films.
British Pathé
Digital archive of newsreels from 1896 to 1978.
Cinenova: Feminist Film & Video
A charity preserving and distributing the work of feminist film and video makers since 1979.
Colonial Film
A collection of hundreds of films relating to the British colonial era, intended to "allow both colonizers and colonized to understand better the truths of Empire."
Documentary Heaven
Access thousands of free documentaries, searchable by subject category.
EU Screen
Thousands of films relating to European society, culture and politics in the 20th and 21st centuries.
European Film Gateway
Hundreds of thousands of film historical documents from European film archives and cinémathèques: rare feature and documentary films, newsreels, ephemera and other materials.
Henri
Rare films from the Cinémathèque française, free to watch online.
Library of Congress National Screening Room
A project by the US Library of Congress National Audio-Visual Conservation Center, aiming to make movies from the Library's extensive holdings freely available.
Open Culture: Free movies online
Over 1,000 free films including animation, classics, independents, film noir, westerns, etc.
Reel News
Activist video collective covering grassroots and trade union campaigns.
Short of the Week
Watch hand picked short films, and submit your own for screening.
Show Studio
"The home of fashion film."
UBU Web Film & Video
Thousands of avant-garde films.
UNESCO digital archives project
Films, photographs and sound recordings from the United Nations.

Fee-based streaming services

MUBI
Eclectic film streaming service with a student rate.

University subscriptions

Free with your Roehampton login.

Archives for Education
Over 200 films from the BFI, BBC and other UK and Irish film archives licensed for creative reuse by film students. Contact Muriel Tinel-Temple (or your tutor/convenor) in UR School of Arts for access details.

ARTSTOR
A curated collection of over 2.5 million high quality images. The images are all copyright cleared for education and research so can be used in essays, presentations and other assignments. Covers a range of subject areas.
Click here for off-campus access.
Naxos Music Library
Contains 400,000 tracks of music including classical, jazz, blues, world music, Chinese music, ballet, film music, and opera.
Click here for off-campus access. To access this database off campus, you will need a specific username and password. Please click on "University of Roehampton" and enter your Roehampton username and password to access this webpage, or see our instructions.

Instructional videos on film making from Roehampton:

Resources on the web (free to all).

40 Days to learn Film
A handy guide from Hopscotch Films in Glasgow.
BAFTA Guru
Inspirational career advice from top film, games and television creators.
BBC Sound Effects
Over 33,000 sound clips available for personal, educational or research purposes. Global content from the last 100 years, including TV and radio special effects, BBC Natural History Unit and Radiophonic Workshop recordings. You can create your own mixes and soundscapes using the ‘mixer mode’ function.
Bensound
Royalty and cost-free music downloads!
Film Network
A free platform to help you develop and showcase your films.
FreeSFX
Catalogue of over 4,500 free music and sound effects for use in any commercial, non-commercial, broadcast multimedia/audio visual production.
Free to Use Sounds
Royalty-free sound archive - please note not all are free of charge but follow the instructions to find those that are.
Learning on Screen
Resources form the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC).
mobygratis
Moby donates his music to independent filmmakers and film students for use in non-profit films and videos (conditions apply).
Women Make Movies
Supports women filmmakers and showcases films by and about women.
YouTube audio library
Free audio clips for subscribers to download.

Online film guides, criticism, networks, discussion...

Audiovisualcy
Online forum for videographic film studies.
BFI Screen Online
The BFI’s definitive guide to British film and TV history.
Bollywood Movie Database
Everything related to Hindi cinema.
British Artists Moving Image Database
Research database on British artists' film and video work.
British Council Film
Showcase and catalogue of UK films.
Centre for Screen Cultures
Interdisciplinary exploration by academics, practitioners, and the public.
David Bordwell’s Website on Cinema
Run by a Professor of Film Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, this comprehensive site includes the blog Observations on Film Art.
Film Studies for Free
A web archive of links to free academic content on the subject of film studies.
IMDb: Internet Movie Database
A wealth of information on over 200,000 films.
Internet Encyclopedia of International Cinematographers
Biographies and filmographies.
Jump Cut: A review of contemporary media
Analysing media in its social and political context since 1974, with particular regard to class, race and gender.
JustWatch
Guide to what to watch and where to find it online.
Kamera
A “Film Salon” dedicated to covering independent and world cinema.
Learning on Screen
Resources form the British Universities Film & Video Council (BUFVC).
Leftfield Cinema
Podcast and database of alternative and independent cinema.
Letterboxd
A social network for film enthusiasts.
Moving Image Source
Research guide from Museum of the Moving Image.
MRQE: Movie Review Query Engine
A searchable database of over 100,000 film reviews, news, interviews, and more.
Soundtrack
"the authoritative source for news and information about composers, movies and television soundtracks, albums, original scores, and songs in movies."
Streaming Video Resources for times of social distancing
Helpful blog post from the The Centre for Screen Cultures at University of St Andrews
Who’s Who of Victorian Cinema
A guide to over 300 leading figures in early cinema (1870 to 1901).
Women Make Movies
Supports women filmmakers and showcases films by and about women.

Film industry, professional organisations, competitions...

BAFTA
British Academy of Film and Television Arts
British Association of Film, Television and Screen Studies (BAFTSS)
Cinema for All
British Federation of Film Societies promotes and supports community film screenings.
FIAF: International Federation of Film Archives
Dedicated to the preservation of, and access to, the world’s film heritage since 1938.
Film London
The capital’s screen industries agency, supporting new and emerging film-making talent.
Film the House
A film competition that links young or inexperienced film makers with UK Parliament.
FOCAL International (Federation of Commercial Audiovisual Libraries)
A trade association that promotes the proper use of archival film footage.
Independent Cinema Office
The UK’s national body supporting independent cinemas, film festivals and exhibitors.
Sands Films
Independent film studio, costumier, cinema club and picture library in Bermondsey, south London.

Physical collections of films and related materials.

Always contact before visiting.

BFI Library
The British Film Institute on the South Bank has a specialist Library and archive of books, journals, film reels, ephemera and more, relating to British film and television.
Bill Douglas Cinema Museum
Based at the University of Exeter.
The Cinema Museum
A vast London museum dedicated to the history of cinema, with a unique archive of film reels, books, journals and ephemera.
Close-Up
A collection of over 20,000 films in early cinema, classics, world cinema, documentaries, experimental films, video art and independent films, plus books and digital resources.
Film Archives UK
FAUK is a collective committed to preserving and developing access to the UK’s public sector film archives.
Goethe Institut
A large collection of German films and books, in South Kensington.
Institut Français Médiathèque
La Médiathèque at South Kensington has the largest collection of French books and films in the UK.
June Givanni Pan African Cinema Archive (JGPACA)
A collection of films relating to Pan African cinema, offering programmes that aim to raise awareness of the contributions of black people to cinema.
Library of Congress National Film Preservation Board (US)
A comprehensive list of public moving image archives and research centres around the world.
London's Screen Archives
Films of and about the UK capital.
London Community Video Archives
Based at Goldsmiths, University of London, LCVA preserves, archives and shares community videos made in the 1970s and 1980s in London and the South East.
London Metropolitan Archives
LMA's collections of over 250,000 images, films and maps, many of which have been digitised.
Moving Image Archive, National Library of Scotland
National Archives guide to film archive collections
An introductory guide to important historical sources on film, television and performing arts held by various archives.
Sands Films
Independent film studio, costumier, cinema club and picture library in Bermondsey, south London.
Science and Media Museum
This Yorkshire museum's collections are dedicated to the science and history of images and sound.

UR Library Search and FAQs

Want to know more? Learn our tips and tricks to get the best results using UR Library Search.

Film

Academic Achievement Team

Workshops, Drop-in Support & More

Contact Us