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
Women's Gig Racing
Women take the Bonnet gig out for a row off St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly
In partnership with:
Overview
A women’s Cornish pilot gig racing team are training off St Mary’s on the Isles of Scilly. The gig is a six-oared rowing boat with a coxswain originating in the 1700s. Gig races are held throughout the summer and the sport has 100 clubs worldwide, with at least 13 located on the Isles of Scilly and many around Cornwall.
A gig was traditionally used for carrying a pilot to a ship and the experienced mariner would board the vessel and navigate it through local waters in all weather. Built from Cornish elm, the first gig designs are the same as lifeboats. In 1838, William Peters of St Mawes built a gig for Joseph Thomas Treffry who ran the Treffry Tramways serving the china clay, mining and granite industries. Today’s gigs are built to Treffry specification, thirty-two feet in length with a four feet ten inch beam. The Treffry and the Bonnet gigs are still rowed today.
Related
Watch for free
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.
Watch for free
Scilly: a Self Portrait Scilly: a Self Portrait
Documentary 1977 48 mins Location: St Mary's
Scillonians of the archipelago of the Isles of Scilly narrate their stories in this documentary.
Watch for free
Harold Wilson retreats to St Mary's Harold Wilson retreats to St Mary's
Current affairs 1976 2 mins Silent Location: St Mary's
Former Prime Minster Harold Wilson seeks refuge on the Scillies after resigning office
Watch for free
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Watch for free
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Watch for free
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
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.