We are proudly presenting all the key films of the GPO Film Unit for the first time. The complete collection includes legendary filmmakers such as John Grierson, Len Lye and Humphrey Jennings.

Created 75 years ago out of the ashes of the Empire Marketing Board Film Unit, the GPO Film Unit was one of the most remarkable creative institutions that Britain has produced. A hotbed of creative energy and talent, it provided a springboard to many of the best-known and critically acclaimed figures in the British documentary movement.

John Grierson, Alberto Cavalcanti, Humphrey Jennings, Basil Wright, Harry Watt, Edgar Anstey and Arthur Elton, alongside innovators and experimentalists such as Len Lye and Norman McLaren are some of the directors whose work embraced public information films, drama-documentary, social reportage, animation and advertising.

Celebrating the 75th anniversaries in September 2008 of both the BFI and the GPO Film Unit itself, the BFI National Archive, in partnership with The British Postal Museum & Archive (BPMA), Royal Mail and BT Heritage, has curated and restored this legendary output of short films:

The Coming of the Dial - Director Stuart Legg turns a technical subject into a small Modernist masterpiece in this elegant GPO film, promoting the automation of telephony in the early 1930s.

Cable Ship - This 1933 film conveys the vital strategic role played by the GPO's cable ships in maintaining communications with the continent. A role that became even more important as war loomed.

Granton Trawler - This 1934 film follows the small fishing vessel, Isabella Greig, as it carries out its dragnet fishing along the Viking Bank off the Norwegian coast of the North Sea.

John Atkins Saves Up - Practical information about the Post Office Savings Bank is combined with a whimsical romantic tale in this entertaining 1934 film about the joys of opening a savings account.

Air Post - At a time in the 1930s when many British newsreels celebrated new developments in imperial civil aviation, this film shows what happens to airmail between posting and delivery.

The Glorious Sixth of June – An OTT, tongue-in-cheek drama about how news of a general reduction in GPO charges was finally brought to parliament, despite attempts to prevent the announcement.

Pett and Pott - A 1934 satirical comedy telling the story of two neighbouring households: the conventional but happy Petts and the unconventional and quarrelsome Potts.

6.30 Collection - Follow the social and mechanical processes that take place in the Western District sorting office in London as they handle the early evening post collection.

Weather Forecast – A 1934 critically acclaimed film on the collection of information on weather systems comparing post office services in relation to the work of Meteorological office.

Song Of Ceylon - (1934) A film commissioned by the Ceylon Tea Propaganda Board contrasts the traditional way of life in Ceylon with the intrusion of the modern commercial culture.

Coal Face – Made in 1935 described the brutality of conditions experienced by the coal miners. The film received a Medal of Honour at Brussels, because of its innovative sound techniques.

The King's Stamp - Made in 1935 this follows the production of King George V's Silver Jubilee (1910-1935) special postage stamp. The film turns colour halfway through when stamp comes to be printed.

The Voice of Britain - The unit's most expensive film ever made (£7500) the Voice of Britain was commissioned by the BBC and included sequences of BBC's light entertainment programs and the magic behind the voice on every radio. (1935)

Sixpenny And A Colourbox (1935) – 2 animated shorts – Sixpenny is a stop-motion advertisement promoting the GPO's telegram service, and in Colourbox animated shapes dance to Cuban music. This was one of the first animations to be painted directly onto the film.