Out of the Rubble

Visionary filmmaker Penny Woolcock explores half a century of British urban life using films digitised for Britain on Film, the archive project from BFI and its partner archives.

Out of the Rubble is leading filmmaker Penny Woolcock’s creative response to Britain on Film, the archive project from the BFI in collaboration with regional partners from around the UK. Drawing on archive film digitised under the scheme, much of it unseen for decades, Woolcock explores the history of housing and British urban life over the last half a century, crafting a singular and revelatory short film.

Watch the original films used by Woolcock in our collection - Britain on Film: Out of the Rubble - or explore thousands more films in our Britain on Film map.