The Box is a major cultural and heritage attraction and archive, which opened in Plymouth’s city centre in September 2020. Its collection, formally the South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA), is the regional film archive for the South West of England, comprising the combined programme libraries of Westward Television and Television South West (TSW). It also includes a significant number of donated film collections dating back to the early 1890s.
This film is part of Free
Friday the Thirteenth
On the eve of Friday the 13th the camera captures Cornish thoughts about superstitions.
In partnership with:
Overview
Friday the thirteenth may have been popularised by twentieth century authors and religious claims linking thirteen to the Last Supper or the Knights’ Templar but many cultures have long-held superstitions, especially for New Year’s Day or days of the year relating to the change of seasons. Reporter Terry Fleet questions if people are superstitious and the responses pay tribute to superstitions that are all but gone such as not washing or sweeping on high or holy days.
Washing clothes, blankets or whites on New Year’s Day or other holidays were thought to wash away a loved one or to sweep away good luck for the rest of the year. The superstition of not to walk under ladders or the modern day equivalent of scaffolding seems obvious, something may fall on you! The word for fear of the number thirteen comes Greek, triskaidekaphobia and for fear of Friday the thirteenth, take a breath and say paraskevidekatriaphobia or friggatriskaidekaphobia but don’t bother doctors about it, they are bound by the hippocratic oath (whereby they agree to uphold ethical standards, also from Greek). Friday 13 occurs from one to three times every year and for some carries with it the luck of the devil.
Related
Jubilee Jubilee
Current affairs 1977 13 mins Location: Bath
A special report looks into the preparations for the Queen’s Silver Jubilee and her subsequent tour of the South West.
Jeremy Thorpe and Peter Bessell 1964-1967 Jeremy Thorpe and Peter Bessell 1964-1967
Current affairs 1964 15 mins Location: Devon
The 1964 election of Liberal MPs in the South West is celebrated but beneath there is another side to the high level affairs of the Liberal Party.
Just the Job Just the Job
Current affairs 1980 29 mins Location: Devon
If you weren’t a yuppy you were a yoppy on the government Youth Opportunities Programme aimed at placing sixteen to eighteen year-olds in the workplace.
Holiday in Catalonia and Beach Scenes Holiday in Catalonia and Beach Scenes
Home movie 1950 12 mins Silent Location: Cornwall
Catalonia is one of the destinations in Lewis Rosenberg's original home-movie which features beaches, bullfights and Barcelona
Cornwall Cornwall
Home movie 1930 10 mins Silent Location: Cornwall
1930s Newquay is the setting for Lewis Rosenberg's film - with horse riding, tennis, girlfriends, much tickling and glorious Cornish beaches
The Big Board at Newquay The Big Board at Newquay
Home movie 1929 10 mins Silent Location: Cornwall
This historic masterpiece, from Lewis Rosenberg, records one of the earliest Cornish surfing holidays ever captured on film
Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A Starve Acre - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 24 mins
Daniel Kokotajlo talks to Nia Childs about Starve Acre, his folk horror about a couple digging deep into grief in the heart of the Yorkshire Dales.
Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A Sky Peals - Exclusive Q&A
Short interview 2024 30 mins
Sky Peals director Moin Hussain and lead actor Faraz Ayub talk to Tomisin Adepeju about their magic realist drama.
Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell Inside the Archive: The Early Films of Michael Powell
Documentary 2024 42 mins
Documentary exploring the BFI National Archive’s role in rediscovering and remastering the early films of Michael Powell.
Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels Inside the Archive: The Riviera Revels
Short documentary 2024 12 mins
Bryony Dixon, curator of silent film at the BFI national archive, explores the origins of a series of comic travelogues, and Michael Powell's involvement in making them.
New Perspectives: Oldboy New Perspectives: Oldboy
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Discover why Dan George of Northumbria University believes everyone should experience Oldboy at least once.
New Perspectives: Wings of Desire New Perspectives: Wings of Desire
Short documentary 2024 4 mins
Trixie Parkin-Christie of Northumbria University offers fresh insight into why Wings of Desire remains essential viewing.