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
Polperro
Locals are concerned about the commercial exploitation of the village as tourism ramps up.
In partnership with:
Overview
TV reporter David Mudd is in the Cornish fishing village of Polperro. Mr Bray who was named as Mr Polperro 1964 fears a revival in the tourist industry is having a negative impact on the village. The village once had a thriving pilchard industry and boasts cottages from Georgian and Victorian times and the cove was also important to smugglers' contraband with Willy Wilcox Cave thought to have been used for shifting illicitly landed goods like rum and tobacco.
Polperro is a tourist destination west of the neighbouring town of Looe and on the River Pol. A heritage museum has records relating to the pilchard industry, smuggling and local characters such as Zephaniah Job who became known as the smugglers' banker for acting as accountant to many in the village. As well as running his own businesses, some illegal, he ran the affairs of the local landlord Sir Harry Trelawny. A small coastal fishery survives and supplies local restaurants and businesses and the village has inspired many an artist.
Related
Watch for free
In Cornish Seas In Cornish Seas
Travelogue 1956 29 mins Location: Looe
Off the Atlantic coast of Cornwall are perilous waters populated by pirates, smugglers and sharks
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
Polperro 1931 Polperro 1931
Amateur film 1931 9 mins Silent Location: Polperro
Charming early amateur film taken on the south coast of Cornwall
Watch for free
Polperro flood damage Polperro flood damage
Current affairs 1976 4 mins Location: Polperro
Flooding has caused extensive damage to Polperro
Watch for free
Artist Mecca of Polperro Artist Mecca of Polperro
Amateur film 1930 2 mins Silent Location: Polperro
Historic fishing village of Polperro is mecca for artists
Watch for free
The Cornish Riviera The Cornish Riviera
Travelogue 1916 5 mins Silent Location: Polperro
Sail away to a bygone Cornwall in this wistful coastal travelogue
Watch for free
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
Watch for free
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Watch for free
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.
Watch for free
Edgar Wright on The Running Man Edgar Wright on The Running Man
Inside Film 2025 28 mins
The director talks to Mark Kermode about putting Stephen King's dystopian life-or-death gameshow thriller through its paces.
Watch for free
Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Richard Linklater Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 69 mins
Richard Linklater discusses his remarkable and wide-ranging body of work, including Blue Moon and Nouvelle Vague.
Watch for free
Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Daniel Day-Lewis Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 73 mins
Daniel Day-Lewis, the ultimate actor’s actor discusses his career in conversation with Mark Kermode.