News on Screen

Series

Series Name

This Modern Age

Issue

Issue No.

17

Date Released

Mar 1948

Length of issue (in feet)

1792

Stories in this Issue:

• 1. Ceylon - The New Dominion

Story

Story No. within this Issue

1 / 1

Summary

BFI synopsis: Opening shots of an arch in Colombo and Ceylonese people. After the achievement of full independence, the opening of the new Parliament by the Duke of Gloucester is shown. A brief historical resume of the country is given whilst ruin of former towns, palaces and temples are shown. British policy and achievements in Ceylon are then explained. Ceylonese children are shown going to school. University education is given. Health services progress. At Polonnaruwa, an agricultural station is set up. A volunteer corp produces trained farmers. During the monsoon, fields and villages are flooded, so reservoirs are built and the land is irrigated. Shots of peasants working in the paddy-fields. Often primitive methods are still used - Shots of sowing by hand. Tea is a major export - Shots of chests being loaded onto a ship. Elephants are used for loading tree-trunks as are cranes. Shots of tea- pickers in the fields and of rubber trees being cut. Ceylon also produces coconut oil and fibres which are twisted into ropes. Germs are dug from the ground and polished. Shots of Colombo’s port. The different religions - Buddhism, Hinduism, Moslem and Christianity, are emphasised. Temples and religious festivals are shown. In 1947, a general election is held. Representatives of the different parties, including Mr. Bandaranaike. Shots of women voting at the polling stations. Mr. Bandaranaike wins the election and forms his cabinet. The problems which the government has to face are outlined:- housing conditions, cultivation of arid soil, food rationing, hospital services, citizenship of Indians working in Ceylon. Finally, comments on Ceylon’s relationship with Britain.

Researcher Comments

Trade shown on 10 March 1948.

Keywords

Education and training; Politics and government; Agriculture; History and archaeology; Religion and belief

Written sources

British Film Institute Databases   Used for synopsis
Monthly Film Bulletin   Vol.15 No.171 March 1948, p35.
Enticknap, Leo. The Non-Fiction Film in Britain, 1945-1951 unpublished PhD thesis   p255.

Credits:

Camera

Clifford Hornby

Production Co.

This Modern Age, Ltd.

Length of story (in feet)

1792

This series is held by:

Film Archive

Name

British Film Institute (BFI)

Email

For BFI National Archive enquiries:
nonfictioncurators@bfi.org.uk
For commercial/footage reuse enquiries:
footage.films@bfi.org.uk

Web

http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web

Phone

020 7255 1444

Fax

020 7580 7503

Address

21 Stephen Street
London W1T 1LN

Notes

The BFI National Archive also preserves the original nitrate film copies of British Movietone News, British Paramount News, Empire News Bulletin, Gaumont British News, Gaumont Graphic, Gaumont Sound News and Universal News (the World War II years are covered by the Imperial War Museum).

Series held

View all series held by British Film Institute (BFI)