The South West Film and Television Archive (SWFTA) was established in 1993 and is now at The Box. This large regional film archive includes programme libraries from Westward Television and TSW (Television South West) and many films given by both amateur and professional filmmakers.
Some of the oldest films are from the 1890s. In the collection are an early travelogue produced by Charles Urban, early colour film and experiments with special effects, and important audio and sound recordings.
In 2018, SWFTA joined with The Box, and its films and team of experts joined the collections and team who look after the city’s heritage services.
Today, the SWFTA Collection is preserved and maintained in its original analogue and born digital formats alongside other media archive holdings in specialist environmentally-controlled stores. In addition to building upon SWFTA’s important regional collecting remit, The Box continues to improve accessibility to the collections for all through dynamic exhibition programming, digital commissions, engagement and learning initiatives, and through ongoing cataloguing and research.
