This film is part of Rentals

The Great Steam Fair
The Great Steam fair is a documentary filmed at Shottesbrooke Park, Berkshire in 1964, at an event which brought together many traditional fairground rides and steam engines.
Director: David Gladwell and Derrick Knight
Overview
Co-directed by innovative British filmmakers David Gladwell and Derrick Knight, The Great Steam Fair is a beautifully crafted documentary filmed at Shottesbrooke Park, Berkshire in 1964 at a nostalgic event which brought together many traditional fairground rides and steam engines. The film skilfully combines the techniques of traditional sponsored documentary with the new approaches of the direct cinema movement.
Related

A New Kind of Wilderness A New Kind of Wilderness
Documentary 2023 84 mins Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A tragedy shatters the idyllic world of a family living off-grid in the Norwegian wilderness.

Riefenstahl Riefenstahl
Documentary 2024 115 mins Director: Andreas Veiel
Captivating insight into the controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous for her Nazi propaganda.

Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Documentary 100 mins Director: Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter
A creative artist couple navigate love and ageing in this brave, fascinating documentary.

Dust & Metal Dust & Metal
Documentary 2022 82 mins Director: Esther Johnson
Discover unfamiliar histories of Vietnam through Esther Johnson’s poetic documentary on the country’s love affair with the motorbike.

Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Antony Crook
Celestial sonic odyssey charting the cult Scottish band’s expansive career from the mid-90s to their tenth studio album written during lockdown.

The Burning The Burning
Drama 1967 31 mins Director: Stephen Frears
A white woman and her young grandson come face to face with a black uprising in Apartheid South Africa, in a tough short film by Stephen Frears.

Carousella Carousella
Documentary 1965 26 mins Director: John Irvin
A controversial, well-made documentary that follows the lives of three young striptease artistes working in Soho.

The Castle of Otranto The Castle of Otranto
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1977 18 mins Director: Jan Svankmajer
Czech animator Jan Švankmajer's adaptation of Horace Walpole's Gothic novel.

Chelsea Bridge Boys Chelsea Bridge Boys
Documentary 1965 31 mins Director: Peter Davis and Staffan Lamm
Made for Swedish television, a look at a gang of "Rockers" who meet at a tea-kiosk on Chelsea Bridge.

The Contraption The Contraption
Horror 1977 33 mins
Darkly humorous short in which a man builds a sinister contraption, the dreadful purpose of which is only revealed in the final shot.

The Fall of the House of Usher The Fall of the House of Usher
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1982 16 mins Director: Jan Svankmajer
The first of Švankmajer's 'tactile experiments', chosen partly because the title was on an official list of 'approved' texts. In this version there are no humans, just a glimpse of a live raven as the camera roams around an eerie derelict house.

Summer Discord Summer Discord
Amateur film 1955 17 mins Silent Director: David Gladwell
A Summer Discord is silent, amateur short film directed by David Gladwell which is set in the countryside and tells the story of a little girl who is reprimanded by her mother.

Memoirs of a Survivor Memoirs of a Survivor
Science Fiction 1981 111 mins Director: David Gladwell
Julie Christie stars in an award-winning adaptation of Doris Lessing's famous dystopian novel.

Untitled Film Untitled Film
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1964 9 mins Director: David Gladwell
Slow motion black and white experimental short film in which a series of concurrent actions and movements are drawn together.

Miss Thompson Goes Shopping Miss Thompson Goes Shopping
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1958 23 mins Director: David Gladwell
From the visionary British director David Gladwell, this 1958 short contrasting rural and urban life is based on the poem by Martin Armstrong.

A New Kind of Wilderness A New Kind of Wilderness
Documentary 2023 84 mins Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A tragedy shatters the idyllic world of a family living off-grid in the Norwegian wilderness.

Riefenstahl Riefenstahl
Documentary 2024 115 mins Director: Andreas Veiel
Captivating insight into the controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous for her Nazi propaganda.

Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.

The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.

Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.

La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.