Adventures in the Americas

Synopsis

Four-part series using rare, private and commercial colour film and photographs to give poignant and surprising insights into the 1930s.

One of the most prolific collectors of colour film in the period was the American industrialist Harry Wright. A self-made millionaire with a passion for film, he acquired and commissioned hundreds of films, which he screened for guests at the private cinema he had built in his home in Mexico City.

The programme examines Wright's extraordinary colour films of Africa and Central America, including his so-called Ethnographic Series of Unknown Mexican Indians, a unique visual record of the lives and customs of indigenous peoples living in the remote rural regions of Mexico.

Credits

Director

Hina Zaidi

Producer

Hina Zaidi

Executive Producer

David Okuefuna

Broadcasts

1. Wed 30 Jul 2008
   21:00
   BBC Four
2. Wed 30 Jul 2008
   23:50
   BBC Four
3. Thu 31 Jul 2008
   02:55
   BBC Four
4. Sun 3 Aug 2008
   23:40
   BBC Four
5. Tue 2 Dec 2008
   20:00
   BBC Four
6. Sun 8 Mar 2009
   02:25
   BBC Four
7. Mon 23 Nov 2009
   20:00
   BBC Four