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
The Surfers
Local and international surfers explain their obsession with catching a wave in this charming film about the sport from the early seventies.
In partnership with:
Overview
This film takes an interesting look at the developing surf scene in Cornwall's Newquay and St Ives. In interview the main protagonists include a brother and sister from Australia, Brian Schofield at Bilbo surfboards and the Surf Insight magazine editor and distributor which had been set up in the sixties as one of the first British magazines dedicated solely to surfing. The Museum of British Surfing (MOBS) opened in 2013 in Braunton to showcase British surfing heritage.
The documentary also shows ex-champion surfer, surfboard-maker and shop owner Charlie Williams, surf holiday provider at Porthmeor Beach, Chris Taylor as well as the inventor of a surf sailing catamaran. Surfing established itself as a sport in Hawaii, Australia and California and from the 1950s became popular in Britain. Heavier and more streamlined Malibu boards and newer technology began to radically change the sport in the seventies and despite some attempts at regulation surfing took off all over Britain as the latest craze. Brian Schofield is the father of TV presenter Phillip Schofield. They moved from Oldham to Newquay and New Zealand and back before Phillip started appearing on children's TV.
Related
Watch for free
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
Watch for free
Scenes on the Cornish Riviera Scenes on the Cornish Riviera
Advert 1912 19 mins Silent Location: Plymouth
From Saltash to St Ives, a whirlwind tour of Edwardian Cornwall.
Watch for free
John Doyle in Newquay John Doyle in Newquay
News 1971 6 mins Location: Newquay
John Doyle appears in this special report on the summer season and is in the surf dude capital of Newquay.
Watch for free
Here Is Newquay Here Is Newquay
Amateur film 1935 3 mins Silent Location: Newquay
Surf's up, 30s style in the heart of the Cornish Riviera
Watch for free
Tragedy of the Cornish Coast Tragedy of the Cornish Coast
Drama 1912 13 mins Silent Location: Newquay
A keen lifeboat crew stars in this exaggerative romance featuring a Cornish rescue mission.
Watch for free
Reminiscences of a Fortnight Spent at Duporth Holiday Camp Reminiscences of a Fortnight Spent at Duporth Holiday Camp
Amateur film 1935 40 mins Silent Location: Charlestown
Life's a beach to these 1930s pleasure seekers, for whom two weeks at a Cornwall holiday camp is the holiday of a lifetime
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
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.