BFI Replay a free-to-access, digital archive resource, the result of one of the UK’s largest mass digitisation programmes, is now available to visitors via a dedicated station located at the Archive Centre.
The BFI Replay project was designed to preserve UK moving image archives video tape collections most at risk from technical obsolescence. 100,000 items, which would otherwise be lost forever, have been digitised across a range of tape formats spanning video’s 60 year history.
The standalone Replay station featuring the BFI Replay portal offers visitors the opportunity to explore 60 years of regional and UK screen history for free. Previously the Replay portal had only been available at UK public lending libraries and other selected venues. The Replay station at the Archive Centre is in addition to those venues. A full list of libraries that offer the service can be found here.
Visitors can find the bespoke station sitting alongside the East Anglian Film Archive’s Kalee Film Projector in the public area of the Archive Centre (see header image above). To find the station head beyond the Long Gallery towards the film archive entrance.
The Archive Centre is open to the public Monday to Friday 9.30am to 4.30pm.
If you’d like support to access the station then contact a member of EAFA staff:
Email: eafa@uea.ac.uk
Tel: 01603 592664
Well-loved stories and forgotten gems
Drawn from the collections of the BFI National Archive and partner UK Regions and Nations Film Archives, the selected videos include historically significant material from ITV and Channel 4, some stories familiar and memorable, others forgotten gems, rare and unseen for decades, to build a revealing nationwide picture of public life in the video era.
Content highlights include a focus on TV Soaps, peeling back the years of some of Britain’s best-loved soap operas such as Coronation Street, Brookside, Emmerdale and Crossroads as well as less well remembered shows including Albion Market, General Hospital and Family Pride, the first British-Asian soap opera.
Explore the rich and varied stories from your region
The East Anglian Film Archive (EAFA) is one of the partner regional film archives working with the British Film Institute (BFI) on the project. Footage from EAFA’s collections, with a focus on stories from the East of England region, is now available to view on the Replay portal. Kids Aid, 1986 (below) is one of the films available on Replay. Inspired by the success of Band Aid, Colchester school children start a national fundraising project to help with famine relief in Ethiopia.
Header image: EAFA’s BFI Replay bespoke station sitting alongside the Archive’s Kalee Film Projector in the public area of the Archive Centre.