Feature Documentaries

The Elstree Project’s oral-history archive has formed the basis of two feature-length documentaries exploring the people, productions and history of Elstree and Borehamwood’s studios.

Through original interviews, archive material and first-hand testimony, these films preserve the experiences of the filmmakers, technicians, craftspeople and studio staff whose work helped create film and television known throughout the world.

Staircases to Nowhere: Making Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining

Staircases to Nowhere is an oral history of the making of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining at EMI-Elstree Studios, told by members of Kubrick’s family and the film’s production crew.

The documentary was first created in 2013 from ten interviews recorded by The Elstree Project. In 2026, the film was completely revisited and expanded with five additional interviews and a further twenty minutes of material, creating a fuller account of how The Shining was made by the people who were there.

The new edition is being distributed in North America by the Criterion Collection through its complete Stanley Kubrick 4K collection and on the Criterion Channel.

Discover Staircases to Nowhere

From Borehamwood to Hollywood: The Rise and Fall and Rise of Elstree

From Borehamwood to Hollywood tells the story of a century of film and television production in Elstree and Borehamwood.

Made by TheCurators! Productions for Hertsmere Borough Council and Elstree and Borehamwood Town Council, the documentary draws extensively upon interviews and research from The Elstree Project.

The film explores the growth, decline and renewal of the local studio industry, celebrating the people who helped establish Elstree and Borehamwood as an internationally significant centre of production.

Following its premiere in Borehamwood in 2014, the film played a series of sold-out local screenings and was also presented at the University of Hertfordshire and the Cinema Museum in London.

Watch From Borehamwood to Hollywood

Explore more films

The Elstree Project has also created short documentaries and edited interview collections drawing upon our oral-history archive.

Explore the short documentaries
Explore the edited collections