About Us
IWM Film is designed for the needs of media professionals
It is a dedicated website for footage in IWM's collections. Registered users can save selections, create clips and download screeners.
Imperial War Museums has managed a Film Archive from its very beginnings as an institution, and the film collection covers all aspects of conflicts in which British, Commonwealth or former Empire countries have been involved since the start of the twentieth century.
Our team of film curators and licensing specialists offer expert advice on the content of our collection and facilitate the supply of material. We have licensed high definition footage for use in productions for over 60 years, including documentaries and feature films.
Explore our constantly growing film archive
Our collection of 25,000 hours of footage includes public information films, unedited combat films, official newsreels and amateur films.
First World War
Our unique and substantial First World War film collection is now digitised from the earliest generation 35mm film masters and available to view online and to select sequences to order as HD digital files.
Second World War
The Army Film and Photographic Unit (AFPU) was established in 1941 to record British and Commonwealth military actions, with IWM holding the primary archive. Key events captured include D-Day, the liberation of Bergen-Belsen, and the North African/Italian campaigns.
Cold War
IWM has completed a five-year digitisation project to preserve 1945–1990 footage covering military operations, propaganda, and civilian life. Over 1,300 titles from NATO's archival film collection are also exclusively available for licensing.
Can't find what you are looking for?
Contact the film licensing team for research assistance. We also offer a digitisation on demand and bespoke film stills service.
Your complete audio-visual resource
Our collections include works of art, posters, photographs, oral history recordings, and documents. Search IWM Collections
Visit our licensing pages for information regarding ordering high-resolution images and audio files, in addition to HD clips.