This film is part of Free

Title of error

See Help

Whitstable Oyster Feast

Down the hatch! Lashings of local flavour at Whitstable's annual oyster feast.

Non-Fiction 1921 3 mins Silent

Overview

There are lashings of local flavour in this fascinating newsreel item showing one of Britain's oldest food festivals - the opening of the oyster season at Whitstable. The film tantalisingly cuts between shots of the oyster smacks, the dredgers at work, and bigwig Lord Northbourne and pals sampling the symbolic first catch of the season - washed-down with a few glasses of ale. Down the hatch!

Whitstable's ever-reliable annual fixture was manna for newsreels and newspapers alike - as is abundantly clear from the throng of cameras that surround the noble diners here.

Original title

Gaumont Graphic No. 1101

Genres

Non-Fiction

Country

United Kingdom

Location

Whitstable

Language

No Dialogue with English subtitles

Watch for free

Waverley at Whitstable Waverley at Whitstable

Amateur film 1982 21 mins Location: Whitstable

Come along for a unique journey on the Waverley - the last sea going paddle steamer in the world - and London is our destination

Watch for free

First Victims of a Shell-fish Pleasure First Victims of a Shell-fish Pleasure

Non-Fiction 1923 1 mins Silent Location: Whitstable

Whitstable oysters bite the dust in this pun-tastic 1920s newsreel.

Watch for free

New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine

Short documentary 2025 4 mins

Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.

Watch for free

Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A

Inside Film 2025 30 mins

The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.