Movies Similar to Tales of the Diaspora

The London Nobody Knows(1968)

Based on Geoffrey Fletcher’s book, this captivating documentary exposes the real London of the swinging sixties. Turning its back on familiar sights, the film explores the hidden details of a crumbling metropolis. With James Mason as our Guide, we are led on an tour of the weird and wonderful pockets of London from abandoned music-halls to egg breaking factories.

6.3

London's Trafalgar Square(1890)

Moving picture of London's Trafalgar Square traffic, filmed with a kinesigraph.

4.5

The Pink Floyd and Syd Barrett Story(2003)

The full bizarre, tragic but celebratory story of Syd Barrett, the co-founder of Pink Floyd.

7.8

Cinema Now(2022)

A fragmented collection of independent closed cinemas, in London during lockdown, captured on Super 8mm film.

2.0

Cracking the Shakespeare Code(2016)

Norwegian researcher Petter Amundsen claims to have deciphered a secret code hidden in legendary playwright William Shakespeare's works that reveals a map leading to the location of certain treasures. British Shakespearean scholar Robert Crumpton embarks on a mission to prove he is spectacularly wrong. (A remake of “Shakespeare: The Hidden Truth,” including new discoveries.)

7.5

Ghost Dance(1983)

Through the experiences of two women in Paris and London, Ghost Dance offers an analysis of the complexity of our conceptions of ghosts, memory and the past. The film focuses on the French philosopher Jacques Derrida, who observes, 'I think cinema, when it's not boring, is the art of letting ghosts come back.' He also says that 'memory is the past that has never had the form of the present.'

5.4

The Street(2019)

The baker, the pie-maker and the diminished long-term community of Hoxton Street face gentrification in this compelling portrait of a rapidly changing London.

7.8

The Journey of Man: A Genetic Odyssey(2003)

Many geneticists and archaeologists have long surmised that human life began in Africa. Dr. Spencer Wells, one of a group of scientists studying the origin of human life, offers evidence and theories to support such a thesis in this PBS special. He claims that Africa was populated by only a few thousand people that some deserted their homeland in a conquest that has resulted in global domination.

7.2

Elizabeth Taylor in London(1963)

TV-documentary about the actress.

6.0

Family, Faith, Footy: A Pasifika Rugby Story(2023)

Celebrating Pasifika rugby players and their communities. A story about small islands, big dreams and the sacrifices made by many to produce some of the world’s greatest players.

0.0

20 Sites N Years(2016)

Artist Tom Phillips walks us through his ongoing project to photograph the same 20 London locations once a year for the rest of his life.

0.0

My Generation(2017)

The vivid and inspiring story of British film icon Michael Caine's personal journey through 1960s swinging London.

7.1

Reel Stories: An Oral History of London's Projectionists(2022)

Documentary charting the experiences of projectionists who work or worked in cinemas in London, exploring the skills and dedication required for this unique role, set against changes in technology, society, and entertainment.

8.0

Rude Boy(1980)

Rude Boy is a semi-documentary, part character study, part 'rockumentary', featuring a British punk band, The Clash. The script includes the story of a fictional fan juxtposed with actual public events of the day, including political demonstrations and Clash concerts.

6.3

Voice of the Islands(2017)

A behind-the-scenes look at the creation of Walt Disney Animation Studios' MOANA, as aided by the Oceanic Story Trust.

1.0

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Across the World with Mr. and Mrs. Johnson(1930)

As if they were showing their film to a few friends in their home, the Johnsons describe their trip across the world, which begins in the South Pacific islands of Hawaii, Samoa, Australia, the Solomons (where they seek and find cannibals), and New Hebrides. Thence on to Africa via the Indian Ocean, Suez Canal, North Africa, and the Nile River to lion country in Tanganyika. (They are briefly joined in Khartum by George Eastman and Dr. Al Kayser.) Taking a safari in the Congo, the Johnsons see animals and pygmies, and travel back to Uganda, British East Africa, and Kenya.

6.0

Harrods: The Rise & Fall of a British Institution(2025)

The history of arguably the most famous shop in the world, which has been based on Brompton Road in London for more than 175 years, employs more than 6,000 people and still welcomes 15 million customers every year. This documentary tells the story of the people behind the department store, including Robin Harrod, the great-great-grandson of the store's founder, and culminates with the recent allegations against former chairman Mohamed Al-Fayed

0.0

Moana(1926)

Robert J. Flaherty's South Seas follow-up to Nanook of the North is a Gauguin idyll moved by "pride of beauty... pride of strength."

6.6

Fred: The Godfather of British Crime(2018)

This is an examination into the psyche of former London gangster Freddie Foreman: 85 years old, allegedly responsible for multiple murders, and nearing the end of his life. Fred is the only gangster who lived through the turbulent history of the British underworld and survived to tell the tale.

6.9

The British Guide to Showing Off(2011)

Documentary about British artist Andrew Logan as he attempts to put on the 2009 edition of his Alternative Miss World. The film also presents a history of the contest (which has run eccentrically since 1972) which was set up firstly as an excuse to have a good party, but has grown into a celebration of alternative lifestyles and sexualities. The documentary mixes archive footage, animated inserts, with talking head interviews and a fly-on-the-wall look at the organisation of the 2009 event

6.6