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Kinolibrary

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Our collections span the world and tell a century of stories, scroll down to explore.

Kinolibrary's music collection is one of our most extensive, taking in a vast array of genres. Hip hop, reggae, rock & roll, punk, electronic and rave, Motown and the blues. Our collections vary from performances and interviews with musical icons, to home movie footage and interviews with fans, placing you at the heart of gigs and concerts.


Kinolibrary’s Rock & Roll collection contains incredible performance footage of all the biggest rock musicians of the 20th century, including The Who, Led Zeppelin, The Rolling Stones and Jimi Hendrix.

Rock n Roll

In the 60s, Rock & Roll was eventually overshadowed by the catchy baselines and harmonies of Pop and Pop Rock. Our collection of Pop groups such as The Beatles, The Animals and The Beach Boys is sure to keep you groovin’!

1960s Pop

Punk is alive and kicking in our collections. From The King's Road and beyond, witness gigs from The Clash, The Ramones, The Slits, The Adverts, X-Ray Specs and many more. 1970s CBGB Scene


Punk Music

Kinolibrary’s stunning Reggae footage ranges from early Rude Boys and Skinheads to later sound system parties across London, showcasing Jamaican and West Indian culture in all its vibrant glory.
Starting out in 1950s Jamaica with roots in reggae and ska, Soundsystem culture eventually made its way to the UK through the Windrush generation and has remained a pioneering part of reggae and bass music culture until this day.


Reggae and Soundsystem

The spirit of Britpop lives on in our archives, the sound of London’s 90s heyday. From Parklife to Pulp, our collections are buzzing with newsreel footage, interviews and performances by the biggest acts of the era.

Britpop

Our music collection also includes an extensive selection of audience clips for all your reaction shot needs - containing standing ovations, bored audiences, rock fans dancing wildly at gigs and festivals, Beatlemania and more.

Music Crowds

Listening to Music

Whether you’re looking for The Beatles rehearsing, The Temptations recording or Rolling Stones groupies backstage, Kinolibrary’s collection of musicians in the studio has you covered!

Recording Studios

Kinolibrary is proud to be working with a collective of influential filmmakers that documented the birth of the Grime Scene. We now represent a collection of seminal films that trace its evolution from its beginnings in East London to the worldwide phenomenon that it is today.

Grime

Jazz and Blues

Music 

This collection includes footage from a diverse range of scenes and eras including  punks, hippies, rave, Swinging 60s and the hip hop scene. A particular focus is amateur footage shot by people who belonged to the subcultures giving a rare insider's view from hanging out on the streets to shopping and parties.


The Swinging 60s was one of the most iconic and creative eras of the 20th Century, and Kinolibrary’s collection encapsulates it in all its glory. Featuring beehive hairdos, miniskirts, and all round hedonism.
This collection includes rare footage of many stars of the era including Jimi Hendrix, David Hockney, Pink Floyd, Marianne Faithfull and Julie Christie. Get a glimpse of colour shopping on Carnaby Street, John Lennon at a warehouse party in London, hippies in Haight-Ashbury, the Rolling Stones hanging out by the pool in America, Andy Warhol at work in The Factory and student rallies in the USA and UK.

Swinging Sixties

Get stuck into our wonderful collection of hippies roaming the streets of Haight Ashbury, on Esalen retreats and taking psychedelic drugs at festivals and parties.

Hippies

Wild dance moves, flares, halter neck shirts, spandex… Kinolibrary’s groovy Disco collection will make you feel like you’re in Saturday Night Fever! 

Disco

Immerse yourself in our show-stopping, high quality Rave collection, a real highlight of Kinolibrary’s archive. Pumping acid house, sweaty dancers and bright neons; follow our ravers as they queue up to dance 'til sunrise at illegal warehouse parties. After the raves of the early 90s, the latter half of the 90s and early 2000s saw the birth of the UK Garage scene. Kinolibrary’s garage collection features footage of Wookie, Mikee B, and young ravers sporting designer clothes. Moschino and Polo at the ready! Emerging from the Jungle movement of the early 90s, the Drum and Bass movement was characterised by 160 to 185 beats per minute and fast breakbeats. Rooted in Caribbean culture, the people involved in this movement were breaking the boundaries of other electronic dance music genres. You can expect to be toured around club nights from garage to trance, lively dancefloor close ups, DJ’s mixing behind their decks, as well as interviews with the hottest club promoters, producers and artists. This collection is a no holds barred sensorial submergence. 


Rave

Breakdancing, record scratching and boom boxes - footage the 70s and 80s of the early hip hop scene in New York.

Hip Hop

Experience one of the best UK punk collections in the world, full of the fashion and fury of this iconic movement. Bands, fans, mayhem and safety pins... London’s Calling! Come and experience it all along The Kings Road and beyond.

Punk

Subcultures

Travel the world with our transport collection covering planes, cars, trains. Particularly strong on 60s and 70s footage, much of this collection was shot on 35mm, shots from this collection have been used in blockbuster feature films and documentaries. 

Footage of planes and airports from the early days of commercial aviation to the 90s. This collection features stunning 35mm shots of take off and landing which have been used in blockbuster feature films. 

Airports and Planes

Footage from 50s-90s most shot on 35mm or 16mm and transferred to 4K or 2K covering motorway driving, road trips and petrol stations

Driving

Explore the subway stations of major cities such as London and New York with a collection of footage from the 60s-90s showing platforms, passengers, trains and stations. Much of the footage has been shot on 35mm film

Subways 

Take a train journey around the globe from the 1930s-1990s with footage of trains and stations from Beijing to New York. Most filmed on 16mm or 35mm stock

Trains

Transport

This collection includes a wealth of protest material from across the 20th Century, from the Suffragette movement, via Civil Rights, to the Miners' strikes, taking in a wide variety of urgent activist films. We’re proud to represent a number of films which follow protest movements up-close, getting to the personalities and politics behind the placards.

Our Women’s Liberation collection ranges from the Suffragettes in early 20th Century London, to the Take Back the Night movement in 70s California and beyond. Featuring icons such as Angela Davis, Betty Friedan, Gloria Steinem and many others, Women’s Liberation is one of the highlights of our archive.  

Women’s Liberation

Capturing the counter-culture spirit and febrile political tension of the 1960s, our collections include Anti-Vietnam War footage from the UK & USA, as well as fascinating Pro-Vietnam counter-protests which paint a picture of a divided nation. 

Peace Protests

From the early 1900s onwards, our Labour Movement footage comprises a wealth of valuable historical material including factory floors, working conditions and strikes. 
A turning point in British life in the 20th century, the 1980s Miners' Strikes have left a long-lasting mark on the nation. As well as protests and picket lines, Kinolibrary’s footage includes job centres, industrial towns, and many more aspects of this defining era.


Labour Movement

Alongside the Civil Rights movement in the USA, our Black British collection includes landmark moments in race relations in the UK, including the Toxteth Riots, the Brixton Riots, the New Cross Massacre and the 1981 Black People’s Day of Action march. This collection includes influential films by Menelik Shabazz, whose complex and sensitive polyphonic works rage against mainstream media’s myths about Black communities in London.  

UK Civil Rights

Our Civil Rights collection features films dedicated to Martin Luther King, including speeches and marches as well as his assassination and funeral. Footage also focuses on Malcolm X, the Black Panthers, the Watts Riots and segregation from the early 20th century. 

US Civil Rights 

Protest

Americana and beyond, Kinolibrary’s US Lifestyles collection jumps the white picket fence and hits the open road. This collection emphasises the fun and fascinating idiosyncrasies which make up the melting pot of American life.


A collection of mid century footage showing the suburban American dream with schools, white picket fences and cheerleaders. 

Americana

African American Life

From scaffolders working on the tallest skyscrapers, to prospectors digging for oil, Kinolibrary’s collections tell a story of American industry, including car manufacturing in Detroit, the tech boom in Silicone Valley and much more. 

US Work and Industry

Yuppies, yachts, champagne, convertibles, mansions, shopping and luxury resorts - footage from 1950s-1980s

US Wealthy Lifestyle

Highway driving from 1950s - 1980s across different American landscapes, point of view shots and motels. Many clips 2K from 16mm or 4K from 35mm 

US Road Trips

Exploring music, food, religion and poverty, the collection vividly documents African-American life through exciting performances and interviews with blues musicians in small-town Texas, at Mardi Gras in New Orleans and a Louisiana juke joint. Films feature black musical icons like Professor Longhair, Lightnin' Hopkins and Allen Toussaint. 

Southern States and Countryside

US Lifestyle

Our home movies collection offers a rare glimpse into personal stories of the past, with never before seen footage from all across the globe.
Dating back to the 1930s, our US home movies archive journeys through different eras in American history, from street life to crowds at hippie love-ins.
Our comprehensive collection of UK home movies uncovers suburban living in the UK, materialising personal stories of the past; seaside holidays, celebrations and changing communities.


Featuring many intimate family moments from Christmases, new babies, birthday parties and first steps. Outside of the home there is family fun at Butlin’s, fish and chips on the pier, and strolls around seaside towns, we’re proud to present much of this footage in evocative 2K quality.

Family Life

Iconic US landmarks and backdrops feature throughout our US travel home movie collection, with extraordinary travelogue and street footage showing everyday life.
Experience the charm of Europe through our home movies, from quaint French streets to popular Spanish and Italian coasts; discover how cities looked before they were hit with mass tourism.
Tour through the sights of Asia, with footage from China, Philippines, Hong Kong, Japan and India, North Korea


Home Movie Locations

Home Movies

20th Century UK life - diverse cultures, regions, work, Royalty, suburban life and industry

Celebrating the diversity of British life, our collections focus on communities across the UK, featuring the pioneering work of black british filmmakers such as Menelik Shabazz. Films focus on the Windrush generation, the West-Indian community in 1970s Notting Hill 
Northern England:


Black British

Exploring British South Asian life in the 1980s and 1990s 

South Asian British


Travelling from the Yorkshire Dales to the pits of mining towns, our archive of Northern England takes in breathtaking vistas and gritty industrial towns, factories, terraced houses and cobbled streets, alongside slums and poverty.
Kinolibrary boasts a wide variety of archive footage evoking the buzz of Britain’s Northern Cities. 


Northern England

Our collections paint a vivid picture of the growth of the suburbs. Detached houses, milk floats and kids playing football in the streets, our archive has it all.

UK Suburban Life

“Made in Britain”. Take a look at our British Industry archive which offers an onsite view of Industrial Factories and Mining Towns. Follow the journeys of our favourite foods, with footage travelling from farm to factory to supermarket.
 Our collection oversees the evolution of office technology over the decades as well as highlighting the progression of women in the British workplace.

UK Work and Industry

Ducking inside boutique shops and wading through Oxford Street crowds, follow UK fashion through flares, shoulder pads, shell suits and beyond with our archive of clothes and shopping. 

UK Shopping and Consumerism

Cuisine in the UK is a matchless embodiment of culture and history. We have a vast collection of footage depicting Britain's favourite meals, from Sunday roasts and tinned beans to kebab shops, curry houses and bizarre 60s pub grub - dinner is served!

UK Food and Drink

Fine dining, luxury cars, stately homes, aristocracy and parties.  Footage from 1960s and 1970s from 16mm and 35mm

UK Wealthy Lifestyle

Step back in time with our 20th century school archive, which brings back memories of school dinners, music classes and playground games. Our collections also include private schools like Cheltenham, Harrow and Eton.

UK Education

Kinolibrary's Royal collection offers an insight into the world of the Windsors. From rare footage of coronations and monarchical tours to stunning establishing shots of Buckingham palace, a wealth of news reporting and rushes relating to Princess Diana, and much more.

UK Royal Family

UK Lifestyle

Including colour footage of the Battle of Britain, propaganda, foreign leaders, weaponry and military vehicles, wartime entertainment and the home front. Kinolibrary have footage related to all major wars and conflicts over the last century.

Our archive features hours of footage of the Battle of Britain, the Blitz and the home front, as well as the war in Africa, Middle East, and the Eastern Front. Including the Battle of Midway, Pearl Harbour, the Okinawa Invasion, the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and many more crucial events, our WWII 

WWII

Take a deep dive into New York City, a hub of global culture for over a century. Our archive provides unique insights into one of the most photographed and recorded cities on the planet, introducing fresh perspectives amongst the iconic vistas.


The New York of film noir. Including footage in colour and 2K quality, our archive of New York from the 1940s is filled with Art Deco, vaudeville theatre and jazz, as well as gritty streets and poverty.
As well as the classic image of bustling 50s Manhattan, our archive takes in artists, beatniks, Chinatown and Harlem amongst all the iconic views.


1940s - 1950s New York

Evoking the essence of mid-century New York, our archive from the 1960s captures the clash of corporate Manhattan hustle and bustle alongside the revolutionary politics emerging in Greenwich Village and elsewhere. 


1960s New York

The era of ’Taxi Driver’, ‘Mean Streets’ and ’Shaft’. The 1970s were the heyday of New York’s grit and glamour. Explore our archive to experience the punk energy of the era. Including footage in 4K from 35mm and 2K from 16mm and Super 8.

1970s New York

Yuppies. Power dressing. Trump… 80s New York was a booming era of excess, and our collection captures the zeitgeist in all its gaudy glory. 

1980s New York

Bridging the millennium, our vast archive includes street scenes, driving POVs, aerials and more from New York in the 1990s and 2000s. 

1990s - 2000s New York

The hub of iconic New York, Manhattan is a land of skyscrapers, yellow cabs, Times Square and Wall Street. A tapestry of neon billboards, seething with crowds, the dynamic energy of New York’s commercial district is brought to life in our archive

Manhattan

From gospel to graffiti, Harlem is a crucial centre of African-American creativity in the history of the USA. Known as the ‘Black Mecca’, Harlem has had an extraordinary impact on American politics and culture.


Harlem

Home to Coney Island, the Brooklyn Bridge, and traditional Brownstone buildings, Brooklyn is a melting pot of artists and immigrant communities. Our footage spans the 20th century to show the borough’s evolution.


Brooklyn

The birthplace of hip hop & rap, the Bronx is the un-sung cultural powerhouse of New York’s boroughs. Our hip hop archive includes thrilling rap battles, breakdancing, underground club sets and hip hop parties from the Bronx.

The Bronx

New York

Going beyond the clichés, our archive of Asia and the Middle East ranges from home movies inside North Korea to rare colour footage showing the start of China’s Cultural Revolution, shot in 1996. Our footage takes a tour of Asia and the Middle East’s stunning views and engrossing history.


The Cultural Revolution is one of Kinolibrary’s collection highlights - with everything from Mao’s little red books and violent communism to home movies of daily life in China. 1960s footage in 2K from 16mm

China

Our footage of Japan ranges from breathtaking rural communities draped in cherry blossoms, to the ultramodern world of Tokyo. Sony, computers, factories, robots - Kinolibrary’s collection really pays homage to the technological capital of the world.

Japan

Dive into this vibrant city through our archive featuring bustling night markets, bright neon lights and busy street scenes. Footage from 1960s to 1990s in 4K from 35mm or 2K from 16mm. 

Hong Kong

Our footage of India ranges from the hectic, crowded streets of Mumbai from the 1950s to the 80s, to the agricultural and rural villages throughout the country.

India

Our Thailand collection spans 5 decades, showcasing a breadth of exciting material. From rural lifestyles and train journeys, floating food markets and gilded temples to boxing, cabaret shows and the nightlife strip. 

Thailand

Asia

Explore the cityscapes, technological advances, counter culture and political and social movements in our marvellous California 50s-80s collection. These rare films cover a fascinating range of subjects from early LGBTQ+ rights campaigns to emerging Silicon Valley, celebrity parties, sexual revolution, hippie retreats, Hollywood, disco and so much more.

Los Angeles from 60s-2000s - Hollywood Hills, driving, palm trees, LAX, Downtown, Sunset Boulevard - many clips in 4K from 35mm

Los Angeles

San Francisco city scenes 1960s-1980s including Castro, Haight Ashbury, Golden Gate Bridge, aerials, cable cars and driving - many clips in 2K from 16mm

San Francisco

Surfing, roller skating, Venice Beach and hippie retreats. Many clips in 2K from 16mm

California Culture

California

Kinolibrary is delighted to exclusively represent World Backgrounds’ vast and rare collection of 35mm film rushes spanning the globe from 1960 to 2000. Containing almost 40,000 shots and films, much of the collection is in the process of being digitised to dazzling 4K quality.


Delve into the iconic, multifaceted backdrops and stories of LA. Experience the glitz and glamour of Beverly Hills, Sunset Boulevard and Hollywood as well as the gritty downtown streets. Our collection offers a fascinating insight into LA from all walks of life. Footage from 1960s-1990s in 4K from 35mm.

35mm Los Angeles

New York New York! Our huge NYC collection captures the heart of the Big Apple through striking aerials and handheld footage, leaving no sidewalk stone unturned. Journey through the city’s legendary backdrops; graffitied walls and immaculate skyscrapers, Broadway billboards and crowded apartments. Like New York, our collection is teeming with life. Footage from 1960s-2000s in 4K from 35mm.

35mm New York

Our stunning aerial footage and suburban street scenes uncover the concrete jungle that is Chicago. 1970s day and night aerial footage in 4K from 35mm

35mm Chicago

No American city is quite as historically influential as Washington DC. A hub for political engagement and unrest, Washington stands tall with iconic landmarks and impact. Discover DC as it developed throughout modern history, through our visual tour of the city. Footage from 1960s-1990s in 4K from 35mm. 

35mm Washington DC

Viva Las Vegas! Just like Vegas, our collection is all about excess. Think neon lights, casinos, shotgun weddings and nights you can’t remember. The drinks are pouring and the slot machines are whirring all down the Las Vegas strip. Footage from 1970s-1990s in 4K from 35mm


35mm Las Vegas

With sweeping aerials, breathtaking skylines, extensive driving shots and streets scenes, the iconic sights and sounds of London are captured in our collections. From across the 20th century, our footage brings quintessential London images into sparkling focus. Footage from 1960s-1990s in 4K from 35mm.

35mm London

By day; hot beaches teeming with bronzed bodies. By night; clinking Capirihinas and Bossa Nova rhythms. Our Rio archive evokes the pulsing heart of 20th century South America showcasing fashions, city scenes, beachfronts and more – A Casa e Sua! 1960s footage in 4K from 35mm. 

35mm Rio de Janeiro

Our Buenos Aires collection conjures the sights and smells of the magnificent city, aromas of steak and barbecue whistling through thick Argentine air, rolling across the lively city streets. 1960s footage in 4K from 35mm

35mm Buenos Aires

Our archive uncovers the “Green City in the Sun” with local people and street scenes to give a closer look at the city’s unique charm. 1980s footage in 4K from 35mm.

35mm Nairobi

Our archive uncovers a city teeming with life, with an in-depth insight into the busy streets and unique culture that Tokyo harbours. Mixing the Sci-Fi future with the traditional past from neon-lit skyscrapers to historic temples and shrines. Footage from 1960s-1980s in 4K from 35mm. 

35mm Tokyo

With junk boats cruising alongside skyscrapers illuminated by bold neons, there really is no city quite like Hong Kong. Our collection uncovers all aspects of the city, from the hustle and bustle of street scenes to dramatic aerial shots. In 4K from 35mm

35mm Hong Kong

Beirut’s stunning and varied architecture is explored through our 1960s archive footage in 4K from 35mm. Shots from day and night

35mm Beirut

Let our archives conjure feelings of nostalgia and the romantic soul of Paris, with an extensive view of the city and its landmarks. Have a coffee on the Champs-Élysées, feel the art seeping from the streets of Montmarte and finish off with a night out in the Pigalle. Footage from 1950s-1980s in 4K from 35mm.

35mm Paris

A lucid city renowned for arts and culture, our footage captures Barcelona’s historic Sagrada Familia, Las Ramblas, and tree-lined promenades. In 4K from 35mm

35mm Barcelona 

Our stunning Istanbul collection shows mosques and minarets, food markets and boats on the Bosphorus. 1960s 4K footage from 35mm

35mm Istanbul

Our stunning 1960s Naples collection features La Dolce Vita beauty shots of POV driving along the coast, aerials of the city, and dazzling bar and hotel neons at night. Footage in 4K from 35mm.

35mm Naples

35mm Locations

We're proud to represent many unique and inspiring collections from punk pioneer auteurs to the vast and beautiful 35mm World Backgrounds collection.

Now available exclusively with Kinolibrary, filmmaker Don Letts’s archive is a testament to the cultural exchange between the Reggae and Punk subcultures of London in the 70s and 80s. Armed with a Super 8 camera, Letts toured with The Clash, managed the Slits, and DJed at the Roxy, arguably turning a whole generation of Punks onto Reggae in the process. Including on-stage and backstage footage with artists like Generation X and Billy Idol, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Slits and The Sex Pistols, the collection also features Letts’ travels in Jamaica with John Lydon, encountering icons like U-Roy, The Congos, Prince Far I, Big Youth and Culture.

Don Letts

Nelson Sullivan captures the glamour and grit of the 80s Downtown New York scene in his collection of films depicting the height of the city’s party era. Hailed as one of the first ever vloggers, Sullivan’s legacy is seen in his fascinating documentation of the city’s colourful subcultures, giving centre stage in particular to New York’s vivacious LGBTQ communities. Sullivan’s revolutionary way of viewing and capturing the city brings to life the frenzy of New York's club culture, including regular appearances from icons such as RuPaul, Andy Warhol, Deee-Lite, the Club Kids and many more.


Nelson Sullivan

A wonderfully diverse collection of music and subcultural footage from 60s-90s. The Cultural Fantasists archive takes you from hanging out with groupies in the early 70s to walking the streets of Haight Ashbury in the Summer of Love and browsing the shelves of Vivienne Westwood’s infamous punk shop Seditionaries. Rare music footage includes a 1977 interview with Marc Bolan, performances by punk artists such as the X-Ray Spex and a performance by a very young Take That in a Northern gay club.

Cultural Fantasists

Captain Zip’s films are famed for giving a rare insider’s view of the late 70s London Punk scene from squat parties to run ins with bobbies on the King’s Road and also recording the emerging early 80s New Romantic and Goth subcultures. We have also recently digitised many unseen reels from Zip’s collection of London films which take a journey round the capital from the 60s-90s covering major events such as Charles and Diana’s Royal wedding, the Iran Embassy Siege and the 1979 Dustmen’s Strike.

Captain Zip

A wonderfully unique collection from pioneering independent British production company Transatlantic Films. Recently digitised to HD, the collection contains a beautifully shot eclectic selection of lifestyle and culture material from across the globe dating back to the late 60s. It also includes music footage from a diverse range of genres featuring artists such as Fleetwood Mac, Plácido Domingo, The Faces and Marc Bolan.


Transatlantic

His first documentary Step Forward Youth (1977) is a film about London born Black youths splices together bedroom interviews, reggae parties, journeys to school and makeup sessions.  Interspersed with clips from work, school, parties, and high street scenes, it is a deft and layered immersion into the actual and interior worlds of its subjects. Blood ah go run (1981) takes the New Cross Massacre as its central issue. It follows protestors from south-east London to Westminster as they chant against the racist attack and police negligence that saw a lack of a thorough investigation or arrest. The People’s Account (1987) gathers oral testimonies about the Broadwater farm uprising, which took place in a housing estate in Tottenham in 1985 after astonishing acts of police violence against the Black community.


Menelik Shabazz

A collection of home movies of 1950s-1990s England shot by professional cameraman Gordon Richards. Focusing on Northern towns such as Stockton and Redcar, Richards shot everything from local communities and teen dances to urban regeneration projects and day trips, all in beautiful colour 16mm.

Collection: