Celebrate screen heritage and our return to cinemas with seasonal packages of FREE archive film shorts available to cinemas across the South West for screening between August 2021 – March 2022.

Chosen titles will be themed, short, culturally rich treasures, compelling in content and chosen specially to connect local audiences to their communities, landscapes and histories.

In partnership with The Box Plymouth and supported by the BFI Film Audience Network (FAN) the short films have been carefully curated, spliced and diced by archive aficionados Compass Presents. With a fresh package available each season, this is an opportunity to enrich the viewing experience of your audiences with no impact on your budget or workload. 

To find out more about each package and information on how to book for your cinema, read on.

TATE ST IVES

  • Age suitability: PG
  • Runtime: 6.33 MINS
  • Format: MP4. .MOV or AVI.

Inspired by Haegue Yang’s straw ‘characters’ and her interest in the traditions of the region, Haymaking in Cornwall (silent, 1930) is a charming depiction of the haymaking and harvest season, and the revival of the ‘crying the neck’ ceremony that had all but died out at this time. A bonus film TV Delivery to Eddystone Lighthouse (silent, 1979) , places audiences firmly in the coastal South West with an engaging coastal sea-adventure from the archives.

Watch the trailer

Jul – Aug

The season for this package has now passed. If you would like to view it retrospectively please email [email protected]

AUTUMN

  • Age suitability: PG
  • Runtime: 6.30 MINS
  • Format: MP4. .MOV or AVI.

As the nights draw in and the earth swings into shadow we celebrate Autumn, Equinox, All Hallows and Harvest with a package of archive films chosen to enrich your enjoyment of the season.

From Punky Lanterns, to news reports of Witchcraft on Dartmoor, and a look at Wassailing through different ages of archival lens, we bring your audiences some of the spook of Halloween, some comedy and some history, and all with a West Country twist

Watch the trailer

Sep – Oct

The season for this package has now passed. If you would like to view it retrospectively please email [email protected]

WINTER

  • Age suitability: PG
  • Runtime: 7.09 MINS
  • Format: MP4. .MOV or AVI.

From giant Christmas puddings to the bright lights of a village fete, we have chosen a selection of wonderful archive films to celebrate the festive season.

We invite audiences to spot their local area in snowy scenes from across the South West, to marvel at the queue for the first day of the Dingle January sales, and delight in the dazzling array of costumes and floats at Bridgwater carnival.

Watch the trailer

Nov – Jan

The season for this package has now passed. If you would like to view it retrospectively please email [email protected]

SPRING

  • Age suitability PG
  • Runtime: 5.27 MINS (short) 10.53 MINS (long) 
  • Format: MP4. or AVI.

As the days get longer and the frost begins to thaw, this package is inspired by spring. In the shorter film option, watch fishermen catch young eels on a spring morning, and cook a traditional Somerset recipe that you may not want to try at home. The longer film includes Spring themed treats from bulb planting and daffodil picking to the Easter Bonnet Parade. This final package offers a bright, lighthearted, and warm way to start your spring season.

Watch the trailer

AVIALABLE NOW

Watch this package now by signing up below. By signing up you are not committing to screen.

How to book The Box Shorts at your cinema

Simply sign up via the link below and fill out a short form to be added to a mailing list. We will then send out each of the packages two weeks ahead of them appearing on your screens.  As well as sending you the video file itself, we will also supply you with a marketing pack including info text, suggested social media and images. 

This project is funded by the Film Audience Network (FAN) through funds from the National Lottery. A condition of the funding is that we report on screening numbers and audience figures for each screening, for each participating cinema. We therefore ask that you collect this data and email us at the end of each package with this information.

By signing up you are not committed to all seasonal packages, and you can screen the archive shorts at as many or as few screenings as you wish across the months they are available.

SIGN UP TO RECEIVE THE BOX SHORTS PACKAGES

About The Box Shorts

The Box Shorts is a joint venture between expanded cinema practitioners  Compass Presents and The Box Plymouth. This activity is funded by the Film Audience Network (FAN). 

Having worked extensively with archive film footage, both traditional exhibition, and more experimental presentations,  Compass Presents are on a quest to increase access to archive film and give it a platform that enables audiences to connect with their moving image heritage. Handpicking clips from The Box archives, Compass will create themed, seasonal packages (approx 5 minutes in total) for you to screen before your feature films. 

It is our hope that a taster of these archive shorts will inspire your audiences to seek out archive film in the future, and give them a deeper, more located experience of film viewing at your cinema.