We gratefully acknowledge the support of the BFI Film Audience Network & The National Lottery in helping us to present thought-provoking and stimulating independent films from all over the world to this year’s Film Festival.
See the world through a different lens
With support of the BFI Film Audience Network, awarding funds from the National Lottery to bring this project to more audiences across the UK
Welcome to the 34th Chichester International Film Festival.
Every August, we set ourselves the ambitious challenge: to bring together the very best of world cinema and share it with audiences who love discovering films on the big screen. This year’s Festival spans almost a century of filmmaking, celebrating cinema in all its richness, diversity and imagination.
We’re delighted to welcome the Lumiere back for its second Festival. Our beautiful 80-seat mobile cinema will host almost half of this year’s programme, creating a unique Festival hub right at the heart of Chichester. The Festival family grows again, with two wonderful new venues joining us: CineVic in Arundel and the historic Picturedrome in Bognor Regis, that has entertained audiences since 1918. Meanwhile, the Windmill Cinema in Littlehampton expands its Festival involvement with even more screenings than ever before.
This year’s Festival opens in spectacular style. What better way to begin than with one of cinema’s most influential and beloved films, ‘Star Wars: A New Hope’, at Priory Park? We then journey through remarkable stories from every corner of the world before concluding with Pedro Almodóvar’s eagerly anticipated ‘Bitter Christmas’.
Alongside an outstanding film programme, I’m especially excited by three major filmand-music events. Our annual silent film presentation moves into the main Auditorium this year, where ‘The Passion of Joan of Arc’ will be accompanied live by an exceptional quintet. We also welcome a talented string quartet for an evening that pairs a Beethoven performance with the acclaimed drama ‘A Late Quartet’. And to celebrate the centenary of the legendary Miles Davis, we’ll present a documentary on the iconic trumpeter
followed by a live jazz performance from some of the UK’s finest jazz musicians.
One of the greatest pleasures of programming this Festival is uncovering extraordinary films that audiences might otherwise never encounter. UK and English premieres, previews of forthcoming releases, and exceptional international films that may never receive a UK theatrical release. My advice is simple: be adventurous. Take a chance on something unfamiliar – you may just remember that one the most.
The Festival’s themed strands have become one of its defining features, offering audiences the chance to explore filmmakers, genres and national cinemas in greater depth. This year I’ve indulged a personal passion with a major celebration of 21st century Latin American cinema. From Mexico’s explosive ‘Amores Perros’ to Colombia’s mesmerising ‘Embrace of the Serpent’, Argentina’s brilliantly audacious ‘Wild Tales’ and Brazil’s Oscarnominated ‘The Secret Agent’, these are films bursting with energy and originality.
We’re also proud to celebrate some of cinema’s most distinctive voices. Robert Redford is honoured with a seven-film retrospective, joined by tributes to Andrea Arnold, Lynne Ramsay and Andrzej Wajda, alongside smaller celebrations of Marilyn Monroe, Brigitte Bardot and Claude Chabrol. Our final strand heads behind prison walls, exploring one of cinema’s richest and most enduring subjects through seven outstanding films.
This Film Festival exists because of an extraordinary community of people who believe in the power of cinema. Our dedicated volunteers, staff, venues, partners and supporters work tirelessly behind the scenes, but the Festival only truly comes to life when audiences fill the auditoria and share these experiences together.
Thank you for being part of that journey. I hope you’ll discover something unexpected. We look forward to welcoming you.
See you at the Cinema
Walter Francisco, Festival Director July 2026
Wed 12 Aug 18:15 - Auditorium
Dinner from 18:15 / Film from 20:15
Tickets £39
Film Only Screening
Thu 13 Aug 13:15 - Auditorium
Film Only – Tickets £11.50
A 19-year-old Anthony Bourdain travels to Provincetown and stumbles into the chaotic world of a restaurant kitchen, setting off a summer that will shape the course of his life. In 1975, one summer proved a transformative experience for a then 19-year-old, “spoiled, miserable, narcissistic, self-destructive, and thoughtless” Anthony Bourdain (Dominic Sessa – ‘The Holdovers’), as the late author and food connoisseur wrote in his 2000 book ‘Kitchen Confidential’. Arriving on the beachy tip of Cape Cod, he cut his teeth working there in several of the seaside community’s restaurants, including the famed Ciro & Sal’s, which took him under their wing. Antonio Banderas plays Ciro, the Brazilian restaurateur who hired Bourdain, and Leo Woodall (‘Tuner’, ‘Bridget Jones: Mad About a Boy’) and Stavros Halkias are two of Bourdain’s co-workers. Bourdain’s estate is firmly behind Matt Johnson’s film, saying: “We chose to support ‘Tony’ because it is not a standard biopic and doesn’t attempt to summarise a life. It depicts one transformative summer in 1975 in Provincetown, Massachusetts”. Tragically, Anthony Bourdain took his own life in 2018. USA 2026 MATT JOHNSON 106M
Join us at Brasserie Blanc, Chichester, before our Gala
Screenings for a delicious twocourse meal and a glass of wine. We open and close the Festival with two exceptional films, and this special dining experience is the perfect prelude to an unforgettable evening.
Dinner: 18:15 / Film: 20:15 / £39.00
Sun 23 Aug 18:15 - Auditorium
Dinner from 18:15 / Film from 20:15
Tickets £39
AMARGA NAVIDAD
Film Only Screening
Sun 23 Aug 15:45 - Auditorium
Film Only – Tickets £11.50
An advertising director faces a turbulent Christmas weekend. 20 years later, a filmmaker turns her story into a screenplay, blurring the lines between reality, fiction and the people closest to him.
2004: Elsa (Bárbara Lennie) was once a filmmaker, but after two failures, has turned to advertising. She seeks to persuade one friend, Patricia (Victoria Luengo), to finally abandon her cheating husband, and reaches out to another friend, Natalia (Milena Smit), who is in agony over having lost a child. Elsa also has a loyal and much younger boyfriend, Bonifacio (Patrick Criado) - a firefighter who moonlights as a stripper. But these people are figments of Raul’s (Leonardo Sbaraglia) imagination, who is searching listlessly for the key to his next movie, only to settle on tearing a page from the real-life travails of his loyal assistant, Mónica (Aitana Sánchez-Gijón). One narrative nests within another; Raúl’s story, set in 2026, is “real” life, while Elsa’s, which takes place in 2004, is his creation. But he doesn’t seem to realise that other people’s life experiences aren’t ripe for the taking, and his insistence on doing so becomes a metaphor for the selfishness of artistic creation. Almodóvar leaps between the two stories with breathtaking fluidity and brings them both to a virtuosic finish. ‘Bitter Christmas’ is full of Almodóvar’s obsessions: striking-looking women, with wilful, complicated characters to play; vivid colour combinations in both production and costume design; all facets of love, from maternal devotion to forbidden sexual desire; the mysterious source of human creativity; and impressive music set pieces, of which there are magnificent examples here. (Subtitles)
SPAIN 2026 PEDRO ALMODÓVAR 111M
u Venue: Chichester’s beautiful Priory Park.
u Bring a Blanket or Chair, and a Picnic Basket filled with your favourite goodies.
u Drinks, Snacks and wood-fired pizza on site!
WE WOULD LIKE TO THANK OUR NEW OPEN AIR SPONSOR, THE GRAPHIC DESIGN HOUSE, NOT JUST FOR ITS GENEROUS SUPPORT OF THIS WEEKEND BUT ALSO FOR THE CLOSE TO 20 YEARS IT HAS BEEN OUR GREAT PRINT AND DESIGN PARTNER.
Fri 7 Aug 19:45 – Priory Park Gates open 18:30
We present a very rare open-air screening of one of the most iconic films in cinematic history, which saw George Lucas open our eyes to the possibilities of blockbuster filmmaking - things have never been the same since.
The Imperial Forces - under orders from cruel Darth Vader (David Prowse) - hold Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) hostage, in their efforts to quell the rebellion against the Galactic Empire. Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill) and Han Solo (Harrison Ford), captain of the Millennium Falcon, work together with the companionable droid duo R2-D2 (Kenny Baker) and C-3PO (Anthony Daniels) to rescue the beautiful princess, help the Rebel Alliance, and restore freedom and justice to the Galaxy. This was a landmark film. Its timeless appeal lies in its easily identified, universal archetypes - goodies to cheer for, baddies to boo, and even a princess to be rescued.
USA 1977 GEORGE LUCAS 121M
Come dressed as your favourite Star Wars character and let’s create a new world at Priory Park.
Tickets: Special Advance Family Ticket: £30 (2 Adults & 2 Kids) (£35 on the day if available)
Advance Tickets £14 (£15 on the day if available)
Kids £3 (£4 on the day if available)
One of the most lovable characters ever put to film waddles into Priory Park, Chichester. Babe the pig is adorable, and this film has stood the test of time as one of the best family films of the 1990s.
Gentle farmer Arthur Hoggett (James Cromwell) wins a piglet named Babe (voiced by Christine Cavanaugh) at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly (Miriam Margolyes) and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other farm animals, including Fly’s jealous husband Rex (Hugo Weaving), accept a pig who doesn’t conform to the farm’s social hierarchy? Magda Szubanski is unforgettable as Esme Hoggett and the final scene will have the audience squealing with delight. ‘Babe’ is intelligent for adult viewers, agelessly diverting, and it is timelessly relevant to a storybook world where makebelieve co-exists with the harshness of agricultural reality.
AUSTRALIA 1995 CHRIS NOONAN 91M
Tickets: Special Advance Family Ticket: £30 (2 Adults & 2 Kids) (£35 on the day if available)
Advance Tickets £14 (£15 on the day if available)
Kids £3 (£4 on the day if available) Sat 8 Aug 17:00 – Priory Park
Sat 8 Aug 20:00 – Priory Park
Gates open 18:30
Join us for this much-requested open-air screening of a romantic comedy that took the world by storm in 1990; complete with a great soundtrack, wonderful comedic moments and two outstanding leads that bounce off each other perfectly.
While on a business trip in Los Angeles, Edward (Richard Gere), who makes a living buying and breaking up companies, picks up a sex-worker, Vivian (Julia Roberts), on a lark. After Edward hires Vivian to stay with him for the weekend, the two get closer, only to discover there are significant hurdles to overcome as they try to bridge the gap between their very different worlds. In 1990 this neo-Cinderella flick was the ultimate guilty pleasure. It relaunched Gere as a lead of silvery-haired distinction and sealed Roberts as the biggest female star of the day. This becomes apparent about 15 minutes in, when Vivian is soaking in a tub in a posh hotel, earphones on, harmonising off-key to Prince’s ‘Kiss’ and oblivious of how she looks to Edward, who is watching her and losing his heart like the rest of us.
USA 1990 GARRY MARSHALL 119M
Tickets: Advance Tickets £14 (£15 on the day if available)
Sun 9 Aug 16:30 – Priory Park Gates open 15:00
Join us at Priory Park for the thrill-ride that is ‘Jurassic Park’. One of Steven Spielberg’s biggest blockbusters, this is a masterpiece of the genre.
Palaeontologists Alan Grant (Sam Neill) and Ellie Sattler (Laura Dern), together with mathematician Ian Malcolm (Jeff Goldblum) are among a select group chosen to tour an island theme park populated by dinosaurs created from prehistoric DNA. While the park’s mastermind, billionaire John Hammond (Richard Attenborough), assures everyone that the facility is safe, they find out otherwise when various ferocious predators break free and go on the hunt. Anyone old enough to remember 1993 will recall that first time seeing the amazing CGI dinosaurs on screen, unlike anything else that came before it. The film managed to terrify a generation of children one minute, and leave them eager to hunt for fossils in their backyard the next.
USA 1993 STEVEN SPIELBERG 127M
Tickets: Special Advance Family Ticket: £30 (2 Adults & 2 Kids) (£35 on the day if available)
Advance Tickets £14 (£15 on the day if available)
Kids £3 (£4 on the day if available)
Sun 9 Aug 20:00 – Priory Park
Gates open 19:00
As our traditional music-themed closer for our Open Air Screenings weekend, we present this family-friendly film that is a fitting tribute to one of the most beloved singer-songwriters in modern music history – Neil Diamond. ‘Sweet Caroline’ singalong anyone?
Milwaukee, Wisconsin: Mike (Hugh Jackman) is a middle-aged mechanic and Claire (Kate Hudson) is a hairdresser. These troubled souls are drawn to each other as much as they are to their shared love of the venerable singer-songwriter, Neil Diamond. Together, they become the tribute act ‘Lightning and Thunder’, experiencing soaring success and devastating heartbreak in their musical journey together. The best Neil Diamond songs are catchy enough to unite huge crowds, they’re deeply sentimental, and they refuse to make even the slightest effort to be cool… just like this film. The film’s musical sequences are superb, with Hudson especially shining. ‘Song Sung Blue’ shows us that everyone has a voice worth using and the world is a better place when we all sing along.
USA 2025 CRAIG BREWER 133M
Tickets: Advance Tickets £14 (£15 on the day if available)
Sun 16 Aug 14:00 - Auditorium
Tickets £22
Join us for a live performance by The Slate Quartet of Beethoven’s 14th String Quartet Opus 131 in C Sharp Minor, accompanied by an introduction by performer and composer Simon Rowland-Jones about this notoriously challenging piece, followed by the 2012 film about a quartet struggling with the very same piece of music. For 25 years, the Fugue, a string quartet, has wowed music lovers with its skilled performances. However, as the musicians prepare to celebrate a milestone season together, cellist Peter (Christopher Walken) drops a bombshell on his comrades (who include Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener): he has Parkinson’s disease and must soon retire. In the fallout from the shocking announcement, competing egos clash and long-simmering resentments bubble to the surface. An outstanding ensemble cast lends depth to the film’s melodramatic script, and the result is insightful and emotionally satisfying. This is a film for both music lovers and movie lovers.
USA 2012 YARON ZILBERMAN 105M
The Slate Quartet is a versatile String Quartet that performs a variety of repertoire. They have performed at the Royal Festival Hall, the Petworth Festival and the Royal Academy of Music, to name but a few venues. Musicians: Isabella Todes (1st Violin), Jennifer Clare (2nd Violin), Carys Barnes (viola) and Joseph Barker (cello).
Tue 18 Aug 17:45 - Auditorium
In 1431, Jeanne d’Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy, and the ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force her to recant her claims of holy visions. Carl Theodore Dreyer’s classic film is accompanied by a score composed by Paul Robinson and performed by HarmonieBand. Spiritual rapture and institutional hypocrisy come to stark, vivid life in one of the most transcendent masterpieces of the silent era. Chronicling the trial of Joan of Arc in the hours leading up to her execution, Dreyer depicts her torment with startling immediacy. Anchoring Dreyer’s audacious formal experimentation is a legendary performance by Renée Falconetti, whose haunted face channels both the agony and the ecstasy of martyrdom. The film was written largely from the actual records of the trial and based on historical evidence that had come to light in 1924, four years before the film was made.
FRANCE 1928 CARL THEODORE DREYER 114M
We are so excited to finally bring to Chichester one of the greatest silent films ever made with a live score performed by the very talented quintet, HarmonieBand, who will bring the film to life. The band comprise countertenor Owen Ravden, Julia Butterworth and Dai Pritchard on reeds, Kim Mackrell on cello, and Paul Robinson on accordion.
This year’s Festival Jazz Night celebrates arguably the most influential and mercurial figure in modern jazz: trumpeter, composer and bandleader Miles Davis, in his centenary year. Across five decades of relentless reinvention, Davis helped shape the course of jazz itself. We will start the evening with the 2011 Miles documentary ‘Birth of the Cool’, before moving from screen to stage with a stellar quartet of leading UK jazz musicians (Quentin Collins, Ross Stanley, Joel Barford and Andrew Cleyndert) performing music from across Davis’ extraordinary career.
Thu 20 Aug 19:00 - Auditorium
Film - 19:00
Interval with bar – 21:00
Live Jazz Gig – 21:30 (80m approx)
Tickets £24
A visionary, innovator and originator who defied categorisation and embodied the word cool: this is a foray into the life and career of musical and cultural icon Miles Davis. Using words from Davis’s autobiography, this film offers an incisive insight into our understanding of the legendary musician. Newly released archival material, alongside interviews with pre-eminent historians and personal friends like Quincy Jones, illustrate a man of intensity and devotion to his craft. Despite the indignities of America during the time of segregation, nothing was going to stop Davis from realising his dream: to create a new form of musical expression. Davis’ influences are felt to this day, and this special documentary will make you want to feel the way Miles sounds.
USA 2019 STANLEY NELSON 115M
Our jazz quartet will cover the different phases of Miles’ repertoire including: ballads (eg, ‘If I were a Bell’, ‘Stella by Starlight’), ‘Milestones’, ‘Kinda Blue’, Gil Evans arrangements of Roderigo's ‘Concierto de Aranjuez’ and ‘Porgy and Bess’, ‘Lift to the Scaffold’ (film), Jean-Pierre and the electronic ‘Bitches Brew’.
Trumpeter Quentin Collins is one of the UK’s premier jazz musicians, with an international career spanning jazz, pop and film music. His collaborators include Prince, Gregory Porter, Alicia Keys, Mark Ronson and Jeff Beck.
Pianist and organist Ross Stanley combines formidable classical training with exceptional jazz versatility. His credits include Tom Jones, Michael Bublé, Paloma Faith, Simply Red and the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra.
Drummer Joel Barford returns to the Festival following his appearance in the Ronnie Scott’s celebration a couple of years ago. Widely admired for his propulsive groove, sensitivity and dynamic range, his extensive credits include Jim Mullen, Dave Douglas, Rumer, Omar and Ronnie Scott’s Jazz Orchestra.
Curating the music for this celebration is bassist Andrew Cleyndert , long regarded as one of the UK’s leading jazz bassists. Over a 45-year career he has become renowned for his impeccable time, deep harmonic understanding, and commanding presence, both as a sideman and bandleader.
Fri 21 Aug 18:15 -
Typically one of the hottest tickets of the Film Festival, the Surprise Film is a unique one-off screening where you will only discover what the film is when the opening credits are projected on the screen.
I can reveal that this year’s film is a preview very kindly released to the Chichester International Film Festival by a prominent distributor. Can this year’s selection be another Audience Award Winner as a few past Surprise Films have been (eg, ‘Pride’ and ‘Untouchable’)? Take a leap of faith and join us for this exciting cinema experience on the last Friday of the Festival.
RUNNING TIME: UNDER 2 HOURS
Thu 20 Aug 20:15 - Lumiere
Tickets: Only £8
The Short Film Showcase returns to the Chichester International Film Festival programme. Join us for a mixture of shorts, this year, focusing mainly on UK productions.
This year’s films: Between the Piers
Clíodhna
Dropping Echoes in Amber
The Final Cut
See the Festival website for full film details.
VARIOUS DIRECTORS 105M
James Hyde
King Karno
King of Ash
Meet Frankie
Premieres, Previews & New Releases
Thu 13 Aug 18:00 -
As if conquering cancer wasn’t hard enough, a 17-year-old’s parents sign her up to spend summer at what she calls “chemo camp”, where she manages to find unexpected friends in a group of misfits and has a summer she’ll never forget.
Hanging out with mates, partying hard, losing your virginity… that’s how most teenage girls spend their last summer before turning 18. But not Ivy (Bella Ramsey). Her lovingly overbearing parents have other plans: four weeks at Children Run Free Camp, a camp for young adults affected by cancer. A quick Google search confirms her fears with a low-rate promo trailer - sunsets, crossfades, everything iMovie can vomit up. As if beating cancer wasn’t enough, now she has to go to summer camp. But ‘Chemo Camp’ turns out to be more inspiring than expected. She meets like-minded misfits who just want to live life to the fullest - snorting prescription drugs, downing vodka, skinny dipping... and maybe even falling in love. This is a comingof-age comedy-romance celebrating love, friendship and challenging adversity: feeling most alive while the world has other plans. This is a buoyant film that celebrates joy and love, with a ‘Little Miss Sunshine’ feel and a great soundtrack.
UK/GERMANY 2026 GEORGE JAQUES 106M
Thu 13 Aug 20:15 - Auditorium
Lady Isabella aspires to be in the spotlight, and a local talent show provides her a break. However, high pressures and a loss of self, lead to a surreal situation on her grand estate. Lady Isabella Ravenhyde (Sian Clifford, ‘Fleabag’) is an aristocrat who longs for fame. ‘Stately Stars’, the local talent show held every year at her estate, seems like the golden opportunity for her to achieve it. So she hires a film crew led by struggling filmmaker Sam (Laurie Kynaston) to make a documentary for Netflix. She wants the camera to follow her “epic journey” of artistic discovery, hopefully culminating in her winning the show, even though it is meant for disadvantaged children. This mockumentary was compared by its director to films such as ‘Being John Malkovich’ in the way that it uses a surreal hook to portray a human journey. Sian Clifford is a tour de force in this unique, funny and unpredictable film.
UK 2025 SAMUEL ABRAHAMS 97M
Fri 14 Aug 11:30 – Lumiere Mon 17 Aug 19:30 - Windmill
Based on her true story, we follow the life of the pioneering palaeontologist Mary Anningan 1800s Jurassic Coast fossil hunter - navigating her career and research in a patriarchal society, at a time when women’s research was unrecognised or plagiarised by male peers.
To this date, Mary is predominantly unknown - despite her spectacular finds including Ichthyosauri, a Plesiosaurus and Pterodactylus and the fact that Darwin’s ‘On the Origin of Species’ was highly influenced by her spectacular discoveries and research. The film begins with Mary’s childhood on the beautifully rugged Dorset coast, leading up to her spectacular discovery of the complete Ichthyosaur. We then move into Mary’s adult life and her magnificent discoveries of the Plesiosaur and the Pterodactyl. Shot on location in Lyme Regis and starring Jenny Agutter, Katharine Hamilton, Jonathan Moore, Paul Storrier and Sharon Sheehan.
UK 2024 SHARON SHEEHAN 137M
We hope to welcome director Sharon Sheehan for a Q&A following the Friday screening.
A father and daughter attempt to repair their relationship and reconcile a shared tragedy against the backdrop of the Regional Dance Finals. Claire (Audrey Zahn) and her mum Deb (Rosemarie DeWitt) are mildly panicked, because an emergency has come up and Deb can’t accompany Claire to her last-ever dance competition. Estranged father Jason (Steve Zahn) is roped in to the rescue – much against his wishes – but encouraged to do so by his best friend Brian (Ethan Hawke). The whirlwind of the Young Miss Southeast Regional Dance Finals becomes the backdrop for a road trip that reveals a shared pain and a path toward healing. ‘She Dances’ is a story about rediscovering family and finding yourself - about accepting what is, letting it shape you, and recognizing who you are through the memories of those you love most. While most will point to Steve Zahn and Ethan Hawke as obvious highlights with their years of acting credits behind them, it is newcomer Audrey Zahn (yes – Steve’s daughter) who steals the show with an exceptional performance. USA 2025 RICK GOMEZ 93M Fri 14 Aug 18:00 –
Bill Nighy, Dominic West, Imelda Staunton, George MacKay and Johnny Flynn star in this film about a writer who tries to reconnect with his sons.
Andrew (Nighy) - or A.N. Dyer, as he is known to the world - is a famous novelist whose first novel became an instant classic and created a cult following around its elusive author. One morning, Dyer wakes up convinced he must mend the broken relationships in his life and summons his sons to be with him. It has been nearly 20 years since an incident tore apart the family. When the sons, Richard (Flynn) and Jamie (MacKay) arrive, each burdened with their own struggles, Andrew reveals something so astonishing it couldn’t possibly be true. For two decades, Andrew hasn’t written a word - or left his home. This familiar story of the troubled successful artist who neglects his family takes a turn when Andrew reveals all. All the cast are splendid, but look out for an outstanding performance by Imelda Staunton as Andrew’s estranged wife. Based on the novel by David Gilbert.
UK 2025 PABLO TRAPERO 119M
Special 35mm Screening
A super rare opportunity to see the blockbuster epic of the year by one of the world’s leading directors, Christopher Nolan in magnificent 35mm. After winning the Trojan War, Odysseus (Matt Damon) sets sail for home but angers the gods, leading to a gruelling 10-year journey. Along the way, he and his men face terrifying ordeals, including facing mythical obstacles such as a Cyclops, the Sirens and the nymph Calypso. While Odysseus is lost at sea, his wife Penelope (Anne Hathaway) and son Telemachus (Tom Holland) are trapped in their own battle. Arrogant suitors assume Odysseus is dead, constantly pressuring Penelope to choose a new husband while bleeding the royal estate of Ithaca dry. Damon is imperious as the Greek king longing to return to his fearlessly devoted wife. “And what had never really been done is a cinematic telling of ‘The Odyssey’ with all of the capacity of a large-scale Hollywood studio production. It’s an odd gap in movie history.” –Christopher Nolan. The film has been receiving five-star reviews across the board from all the leading critics.
UK/USA 2026 CHRISTOPHER NOLAN 172M
Tue 18 Aug 11:30 –
Wed 19 Aug 17:45 –
A 17-year-old orphan is sent from England to live under the guardianship of her uncle on the beautiful island of Mauritius.
1925: When Lucy Gladwell (Ellie Bamber, ‘Moss & Freud’) arrives in enchanting Mauritius off the eastern coast of Africa, her charming but controlling uncle, English plantation owner George Huyton (Rupert Penry-Jones), has his own plans to marry Lucy off for financial gain. His gameplan is scuppered when she begins a forbidden love affair with a local Tamil plantation worker called Krishna (Mehdi Dehbi). To be together, Lucy and Krishna must risk everything and defy a world determined to tear them apart. This is the first feature film to authentically portray Mauritius to the world and celebrate the island’s multicultural history. As a result, a newly established Mauritian Film Office has been created, hopefully leading to many more films being made on this picturesque isle.
UK 2025 MITCH JENKINS 108M
We hope to welcome director Mitch Jenkins and lead Ellie Bamber for a Q&A following one of the screenings (check online).
Thu 20 Aug 12:45 – Auditorium
Thu 20 Aug 19:30 – Windmill
Edinburgh, 1810. A scandal erupts when a young student accuses two of her teachers of having an illicit affair.
Marianne Woods (Clare Dunne) and Jane Pirie (Flora Nicholson) run a private girls’ school and are thrilled, if a little nervous, by the financial and social coup of enrolling three granddaughters of the imperious Lady Cumming Gordon (Fiona Shaw). One of the girls, Jane Cumming (Mia Tharia), is of mixed race – her father was married to an Indian woman. Jane is bullied and mocked by the white girls, so finds it easier to spend time with the two teachers who are made a little uneasy, sensing that their leniency and kindliness could backfire. When the teachers start treating her with more professional distance, Jane concocts a story, based on some truth, that morphs into a situation that cannot be undone. Fiona Shaw plays Lady Cumming Gordon with impressive grandeur, but it is young Mia Tharia who is the standout performer here in a tricky role to get right… and she certainly has. You may have seen William Wyler’s ‘The Children’s Hour’ (1961) with Shirley MacLaine and Audrey Hepburn, which was based on this true story.
UK 2026 SOPHIE HELDMAN 114M
Wed 19 Aug 15:30 – Lumiere
In this insightful and engaging drama, we get two separate stories of two everyday people in two very different locations, both dealing with their own ‘ordinary battles’.
Archie Panjabi plays a hardworking nurse doing her best to run a busy ward while keeping her home life on track. The pressures of an understaffed hospital mixed with anxious patients contribute to mistakes that can mean life or death. In the second vignette, Daniel Mays plays a man out on an annual ‘buddy trip’ with two best friends, this year being a country trek in the Lake District, as he attempts to rekindle the bonds of the trio’s younger days. This is a very welltold drama in which most viewers will find something they can relate to. Be it the pressures of a work life, or just the longing for the unbridled joy of a younger self, you will find yourself empathising with the characters.
UK 2026 MARGO ROE & BRICK 90M
Wed 19 Aug 18:00 – Auditorium
Thu 20 Aug 15:00 – Auditorium
Fri 21 Aug 19:30 – Windmill
Jury Prize winner at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival. As dementia erodes a woman’s ability to communicate her inner life, her husband and daughter struggle to act in her best interests, navigating love and the fragile boundaries between care, protection and autonomy.
Amanda (Juliette Binoche) is an academic who has temporarily moved from Newcastle to North London to be closer to her mother, Leslie (Anna Calder-Marshall) – who has advanced dementia – and her stepfather, Martin (Tom Courtenay). One morning when Amanda checks in on the couple, she finds them in bed together, and the situation quickly spirals with Amanda accusing Martin of a crime and calling the police. Has Amanda mishandled the situation? Has Martin taken advantage of his wife? These questions are dealt with both compassion and detachment by the very talented director Lance Hammer. This moving film, which presents an unsentimental yet highly empathetic meditation on the limits of love in the face of the brutal march of time, has been highly acclaimed by film critics from around the world, many comparing it with Michael Haneke’s ‘Amour’.
UK 2026 LANCE HAMMER 121M
Thu 20 Aug 13:00 - Lumiere
A young girl spends the summer with her father and grandmother on a small island in the Gulf of Finland as the family grapples with the recent loss of Sophia’s mother. At her family’s home on a Finnish island, young Sophia (Emily Matthews) explores the natural world with her father (Anders Danielsen Lie) and grandmother (Glenn Close). Together, they forge an existence on the island - a day trip to a neighbouring island; they adopt a cat; plant a tree – all the while learning about each other’s needs. This is such a beautifully poetic film, conveying profound thoughts about time, memory, loss and nature through a meditative cinematic language of exquisite images and music. Adapted from Tove Jansson’s beloved novel, this delicate account of growing up and growing old perfectly partners with the glorious Finnish landscape. Glenn Close is superbly cast and delivers an award-worthy performance, also drawing a lovely performance from newcomer Emily Matthews as the granddaughter.
USA/FINLAND 2024 90M
Fri 21 Aug 15:30 – Auditorium Sat 22 Aug 18:00 – Auditorium
When jazz pianist Bill Evans’ brilliant young bassist dies tragically, Evans is devastated. This is the story of his journey to overcome grief and return to music.
June 1961, New York City. Legendary jazz pianist Bill Evans (Anders Danielsen Lie) has found his musical voice and created the perfect trio, including bass player Scott LaFaro (Will Sach), said to be his soulmate through music. A residency at New York’s Village Vanguard culminates in the live taping of two of the greatest jazz records of all time in one night. Ten days later, LaFaro dies in a car crash. Numb with grief, Evans stops playing. This is a film about music, and what happens when a musician can no longer create. Laurie Metcalf (‘Lady Bird’) and the affable Bill Pullman are terrific as the long-suffering parents. Winner of the Best Director prize at the 2026 Berlin Film Festival, this bold film, shot in beautifully moody black and white, is elegant and feels extremely honest.
USA 2026 GRANT GEE 102M
Fri 21 Aug 20:30 – Auditorium
Sat 22 Aug 19:30 – Windmill
Sun 23 Aug 18:15 – Windmill
A gritty, dark and sometimes violent adaptation of the 17th century ballad ‘Robin Hood’s Death’. At its heart, a redemption story of a man coming to terms with a life misspent.
Grappling with his past after a life of crime and murder, Robin Hood (Hugh Jackman) finds himself gravely injured after a battle he thought would be his last. The leader of the Merry Men (including Bill Skarsgård as Little John) helped build a legend of “taking from the rich and giving to the poor”. Now he tells anyone who believes it that it was fake news. In the hands of a mysterious woman, Sister Brigid (Jodie Comer), he is offered a chance of salvation. Sarnoski’s (‘A Quiet Place: Day One’) film contains meticulously crafted costumes, a beautiful and haunting score, continuously stunning cinematography, and Jackman turns out to be the perfect embodiment of this taciturn, troubled protagonist.
USA 2026 MICHAEL SARNOSKI 122M
If there’s an art, craft or creative technique you’ve been meaning to try, our Creative Taster Sessions make it easy to follow your curiosity and begin.
In a small group, around our Gardens Gatehouse craft table, an expert est ean tutor will guide you through your material and process, so you lea e with a finished piece of your own and a first feel for a new skill .
Gardens entry is included hoose from introductory tasters across printmaking, textiles, drawing, painting, botanical inks and more.
Drawing Still Life
Tanya Wood, Sat 5 Sep
Brass Inlay Block Printing
Jenney Kelly, Sat 12 Sep
Wooden Spoon Carving
Annie Slack, Sat 1 ct
Discover the full programme and book online
westdean. ac . uk / themes/ creative- tasters
Scan the QR code to book
Premieres, Previews & New Releases
Fri 14 Aug 17:45 - Auditorium Mon 17 Aug 12:45 - Auditorium
Review - Spain/Portugal
In this beautiful and poetic drama, the departure of a quiet teacher’s wife leads him unexpectedly to a Portuguese country house, where he forms an unforeseen but special friendship with the owner.
Fernando (Manolo Solo), a university geography professor in Barcelona with a fondness for paper maps over digital ones, decides to travel to the opposite coast of the Iberian Peninsula after his Serbian wife suddenly leaves him and returns to her country with no explanation. On the northern coast of Portugal, he meets Manuel (Xavi Mira), a gardener, also Spanish, stateless and itinerant, who captivates Fernando, and inadvertently opens his eyes to a beautiful new world. Serendipitous circumstances lead Fernando to a job at the local ‘Portuguese house’ of the title, whose elegant, mysterious and elusive owner Amalia (Maria de Medeiros – you may remember her from ‘Pulp Fiction’), oversees a grand house of wondrous atmosphere and secrets. You will notice echoes of Éric Rohmer, and if you enjoyed 2023’s ‘The Taste of Things’, you will absolutely love this. (Subtitles)
SPAIN/PORTUGAL 2025 AVELINA PRAT 114M
A moving and very funny road movie that follows a young man from an assisted living facility as he goes on a group outing but inadvertently ends up with a group of Japanese tourists.
Buschi’s (Aladdin Detlefsen) daily routine in an assisted living facility leaves no room for surprises. Seeking change, he seizes the chance to leave a group outing behind and joins a tour of Japanese tourists travelling through Germany. Having lived his entire life without speaking, on this unusual trip he forms a wordless friendship with Hideo (Kanji Tsuda) - a man on a journey of his owncreating a bond that goes beyond words and starts an unexpected adventure. Everybody around Buschi seems to have worries and misunderstandings. But Buschi magically just hovers through life knowing that he will find his way, touching everybody he encounters. This is a warmhearted story about the most unlikely characters, two drifting souls, who unexpectedly and almost magically create a bond and become friends. (Subtitles) GERMANY 2025 THOMAS STUBER 113M
Mon 17 Aug 17:45 - Auditorium Sat 22 Aug 15:45 - Auditorium
UK Premiere - France/Belgium
A woman carrying a past she’s trying to come to terms with and a rebellious teenager struggling to contain anger issues, set out on the famous El Camino pilgrimage to Santiago de Compostela.
Adam (Julien Le Berre) is an angry teenager who must walk 800 kilometres on the Camino de Santiago to avoid juvenile detention. He forms an unlikely bond with Fred (Alexandra Lamy), a tough and outspoken woman seeking her own healing. The trail quickly becomes a space for confrontation but then slowly turns into a catalyst for much needed healing. This film is based on a true story that turned out to be a life-changing journey for both. Look out for the magnificent landscapes gorgeously portrayed on the big screen, that will no doubt have you reaching for your passport. The film speaks to some of today’s deepest aspirations: slowing down, reconnecting with nature and finding meaning beyond the noise of modern life, along with the notion that a second chance can help teenagers in conflict find their way again. (Subtitles)
FRANCE/BELGIUM 2026 YANN SAMUELL 113M
Tue 18 Aug 17:30 - Lumiere Wed 19 Aug 12:45 - Auditorium
Review - Romania
The extraordinary life of Sergiu Celibidache. From his childhood in Romania, to his exile in pursuit of a career in music, his struggle for survival in wartime Germany and his rise, fall and rise again, in an unimaginable life journey.
This biopic honours a towering figure in music, Romanian conductor and composer Sergiu Celibidache (Ben Schnetzer). The story moves back and forth in time, beginning in Celibidache’s youth in Romania in the post-WWI years, where he grew up in a prosperous family. His father had ambitious plans for his son to one day be the prime minister of Romania, but young Sergiu was already drawn to composing music. Eventually he parted ways with his family, first playing piano in clubs and ballet classes in Bucharest, and eventually moving to Berlin to study composition. This was the 1930s, and the Nazi grip was tightening. Romanians were considered “gypsies” and an unwanted part of the German population. Despite this, at the end of the war he earned the position of principal conductor of the prestigious Berlin Philharmonic, where he excelled. John Malkovich brings further weight to the film as the older Celibidache. Directed by his son Serge, the movie frames this story with a sense of personal reckoning, reflecting on questions of identity, exile and inheritance. As it charts Celibidache’s refusal to conform, both in his art and in his life, the narrative carries the imprint of a son trying to understand the man behind the legend. (In English with some subtitles)
ROMANIA 2025 SERGE IOAN CELEBIDA 145M
Mon 17 Aug 20:00Auditorium
Wed 19 Aug 13:15Auditorium
UK Premiere - France
L’AFFAIRE BOJARSKI
In this unbelievable true story, a man relocates from Poland to France after WWII and becomes the legendary counterfeiter known as the “Cézanne of counterfeit money”.
Unable to patent his inventions and feeling socially humiliated, engineer Jan Bojarski (Reda Kateb) descends into the dangerous underworld of counterfeiting, swiftly becoming the most skilled counterfeiter in the country. Working solo, he crafted flawless fake French Francs worth millions over 14 years. What follows is a precise documentary-style look at the artisanal, paper-and-press techniques of counterfeiting, a touching family drama exploring the toll of a perilous double life, and a tense cat- and-mouse manhunt led by Commissioner Mattei (Bastien Bouillon). We are delighted to be screening the UK Premiere of this film which may criminally never be released in the UK. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 2025 JEAN-PAUL SALOMÉ 128M
On the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, an unassuming video-store owner is revealed to be the mastermind behind the largest mass escape from East Germany.
Micha (Charly Hübner) is a struggling video rental shop owner on the verge of bankruptcy. When he is interviewed about his (exaggerated) role in a mass escape from the former German Democratic Republic, Micha goes along with the story for some quick cash. He inadvertently becomes an overnight national hero, bringing him sudden fame and his dream woman (Christiane Paul). Directed by Wolfgang Becker (‘Good Bye, Lenin’), who passed away shortly after completing filming, this smart, fast-paced and melancholic satire also stars Daniel Brühl. (Subtitles)
GERMANY 2025 WOLFGANG BECKER/ ACHIM VON BORRIES 112M
IDDU
A darkly comic crime drama inspired by the true story of the hunt for real-life, long-fugitive Sicilian Mafia boss Matteo Messina Denaro.
Sat 22 Aug 20:30 –
Sicily, early 2000s. After serving several years in prison for Mafia-related crimes, long-serving politician Catello Palumbo (Tony Servillo) has lost everything. When the Italian Secret Service “persuades” him to help capture the last major Mafia boss (Elio Germano) still on the run, he sees an opportunity to stage a comeback. Catello begins correspondence with the fugitive, as unique as it is improbable, exploiting the younger man’s emotional emptiness. Servillo manages to bring some levity to his lead character, allowing this film to have a unique tone amongst the many mafia films released. (Subtitles)
ITALY 2024 FABIO GRASSADONIA/ANTONIO PIAZZA 122M
Wed 19 Aug 15:45 - Auditorium
At the beginning of the 20th century, in the Normandy countryside, a married woman and her maid try to escape the grip of bourgeois patriarchy. Rural Normandy, 1908. Céleste (Galatéa Bellugi from ‘The Taste of Things’) is a young maid working in the bourgeois household of a notary named André de Boisvaillant (Swann Arlaud from ‘Anatomy of a Fall’) and his wife Victoire (Louise Chevillotte). Every night, André sneaks into Céleste’s room until the inevitable happens and the girl can no longer hide her bulging belly. When Victoire realises what has happened, she comes up with a plan to fake a pregnancy and keep Céleste’s child. As the tension in the household increases, an unexpected bond is forged between these two women who have nothing in common. This is such an intelligent exploration of women’s resilience and the complex relationships within a rigid class system. The sets are gorgeous, recreating the bourgeois interiors of early 20th century France, and highlighting the vertical class division within households. (Subtitles) FRANCE 2025 JÉRÔME BONNELL 103M
Wed 19 Aug 20:00 - Picturedrome
Poland
Pawel Pawlikowski followed his Oscarwinning ‘Ida’ with this stunning epic romance between two people of different backgrounds set against the backdrop of Europe after World War II. Poland. Wiktor (Tomasz Kot) and Irena (Agata Kulesza) are recording folk songs – mournful tales of love, drink and hardship, raw and elemental. They come across Zula (Joanna Kulig) who soon joins their group. When Wiktor spies a chance to defect during a 1952 engagement in East Berlin, he begs Zula to come with him. But are her pragmatic priorities in sync with his Western-leaning dreams? Shot in luminous black and white, it is a wistful and dreamlike journey through a divided continent and a heart-breaking portrait of ill-fated love. For this film, Pawlikowski was awarded the Best Director prize at the 2018 Cannes Film Festival. We are screening this film to complement our Andrzej Wajda season (see pg60 for details). (Subtitles)
POLAND/UK/FRANCE 2018 PAWEL PAWLIKOWSKI 89M
Sat 22 Aug 15:30 - Lumiere
Preview - France
In this refreshing, feel-good family comedy, a young boy navigates life between his distant older brother and quarrelling parents while grappling with adolescence. Paris 1985. Vincent (Simon Boublil), about to turn 13, grows up in the suburbs within a middleclass family, swinging between an older brother who lives only for music, and parents in constant conflict. The film traces this in-between space, where questions about identity, family, friendship, religion and first loves start to redefine how he sees the world. French cinema veterans Camille Cottin and Louis Garrel – who you will surely recognise - portray the parents with an explosive chemistry and real emotional heft. Nakache and Toledano directed the 2013 Chichester Film Festival Audience Award winner, ‘Les Intouchables’, and here, once again, they have created a heartwarming comedy blessed with vibrant energy and a strong cast. Listen out for the energetic soundtrack which propels the film. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 2026 OLIVIER NAKACHE/ÉRIC TOLEDANO 119M
Sat 22 Aug 10:45 – Lumiere
Preview - Germany
An orphan must do battle with the soulless and grey men who stealthily take over her city and steal time.
Momo (Alexa Goodall) is an enigmatic redhaired girl who lives in the ruins of an old Roman amphitheatre and becomes friends with everybody in the neighbourhood. But when a powerful international corporation led by the evil Richter (Claes Bang) starts stealing everybody’s time, nobody has any time left for her, let alone their friends or families - and Momo, together with Master Hora (Martin Freeman), the custodian of time, are the only ones who can go up against the time thieves before all is lost forever. This is the big-screen adaptation of Michael Ende’s best-selling fantasy novel, and quite of the times considering how social media warps our worldview and eats away our time.
GERMANY 2025 CHRISTIAN DITTER 91M
Kids only £4
Premieres, Previews & New Releases of World Cinema
Thu 13 Aug 15:30 - Auditorium
Fri 14 Aug 19:30 - Windmill
Sat 15 Aug 14:15 - Auditorium
UK Premiere
A lost boy in search of heaven, three odd nuns on a mission and a car powered by God (and stolen money). This is a fun film! A road trip like no other. A comedic near-tragedy that just keeps going South.
1974, New Zealand. A young Maori boy called Brian (Elijah Tamati) has had his heart broken after his mother passes away, but forms a personal connection with a quirky trio of nuns. These are played by Miriam Margolyes – who is always great value - and Australian acting royalty Judy Davis and Jacki Weaver. When Brian overhears some earth-shattering news regarding the future of the convent, the group embark on a wild, hilarious race to find the original deed to the land and save the building. Set throughout rural New Zealand, the visuals are diverse and often breathtaking, featuring coastlines, mountain peaks and gorgeous winding roads. ‘Holy Days’ is a feel-good joyride about faith, fierce family vibes and finding hope where you least expect it. Buckle up!
NEW ZEALAND/CANADA 2026 NAT BOLTT 101M
Sat 15 Aug 15:15 – Lumiere
UK Premiere - Iran
ZAMANI DAR ABADIYAT
A mysterious man’s arrival shatters Maryam’s fragile world in Iran, sending her on a journey to find her missing husband. Maryam’s (Leila Hatami) fragile world is upended when she discovers her husband has gone missing. As she sets out with her teenage daughter to retrace his final steps, she faces intense emotional strain, societal pressures and the unwelcome advances of her brother-in-law. Along the way, a calm stranger introduces a spiritual shift that alters her path and forces her toward self-discovery. Leila Hatami leads the film beautifully, widely recognised for her role in Oscar winning ‘A Separation’ by Asghar Farhadi, and remains a deeply respected figure within the global Persian community. (Subtitles)
IRAN 2026 MEHDI NOROWZIAN 95M
Sun 16 Aug 20:15 - Auditorium
Hirokazu Kore-eda’s new film is set in the near future, where a married couple decide to welcome a humanoid robot into their home as their son.
Otone (Haruka Ayase) and Kensuke Komoto (Daigo Yamamoto) have recently lost their son, Kakeru (Rimu Kuwaki), and in their grief, Otone sees an advertisement for humanoid robots of deceased loved ones. On the surface, Kakeru is a perfect physical replica of the son Otone and Kensuke lost, but the limitations of the technology underscore the gap between the son they’ve lost and the one they now have. Kore-eda (Cannes Palme d’Or winner with ‘Shoplifters’) has always been a humanist filmmaker, one who has no naïveté about our capacity for destruction, even as he celebrates the ways people, despite their own self-interests, can sacrifice and care for each other. Here, he offers a new way to rethink holding on to grief, resulting in a wistful poem of a movie. (Subtitles)
JAPAN 2026 HIROKAZU KORE-EDA 126M
Tue 18 Aug 20:30 - Lumiere
Commemorating the fifth anniversary of their mother Aysel’s death, a family reunion sparks deep-seated arguments among the ex-husband, son and in-laws, unearthing buried family secrets.
Caner (Burak Dakak), who went to Germany to study at university, returns to Türkiye to attend the fifth anniversary commemoration of his mother’s death, and is greeted at the airport by his father Muharrem (Kadir Çermik), whom he has not seen for a long time. Caner sees his father as responsible for his mother’s death, so the long journey to the Turkish countryside will not be easy. Add to that the uneasy sociopolitical environment of the country in the background, and then imagine how complicated this journey gets when an apparition of Caner’s mother gets involved between the father and son on a dark night. (Subtitles)
TÜRKIYE 2026 SONER SERT 90M
We hope to welcome director Soner Sert to this screening.
Premieres, Previews & New Releases
Thu 13 Aug 15:00 - Lumiere
Since October 2023, Gaza has been sealed from the world - except for one group. International doctors breach the blockade, and what they find is not just a humanitarian crisis, but a calculated dismantling of life itself.
While global media are barred from reporting, doctors are the only outsiders getting in. ‘Life Support’ is built around their first-hand accounts and visceral footage from inside overwhelmed hospitals, covering the entire two years of the conflict. Three medics lay bare the daily reality: bombedout wards, dwindling supplies, starvation and an overwhelming influx of casualties. Their accounts reveal what is being denied entry: formula, pain medication, surgical instruments. Alongside the doctors’ recordings, footage shot by local camera operators captures everyday life beyond the headlines. The result is an unflinching record of a society being dismantled, and an urgent call to attend to its human consequences. (Some subtitles)
UK 2026 DANIELE RUGO 90M
Fri 14 Aug 13:15 - Auditorium
Preview - UK/India
The romantic journey of a Delhi street artist who trekked 6,000 miles by bicycle in 1977, venturing across continents to reunite with the woman he loved.
In 1975, P.K. Mahanandia met the woman of his dreams - Anne-Charlotte, also known as Lotta. She was traveling from Sweden, when she sat for P.K. to sketch her portrait. In 10 minutes for 10 rupees, their lives changed forever. The pair immediately fell for each other during Lotta’s relatively short stay, before having to return home. Determined and in love, P.K. left India via bicycle with the plan of cycling nearly 6000 miles to Sweden to find her. It’s a plan that’s so crazy, it might just work. This is an inspiring, heartwarming, epic true-life adventure about self-belief, destiny and the courage to risk everything for love. This stirring documentary is the kind of film whose sweet subject transcends time and borders. The kind of film that sneaks up on viewers and remains in their hearts and minds for weeks later. (Some subtitles)
UK/INDIA 2025 ORLANDO VON EINSIEDEL 98M
Preview - Italy
BRUNELLO, IL VISIONARIO GARBATO
From the director of ‘Cinema Paradiso’, comes this documentary about a farmer’s son who transforms into a fashion mogul, building a billion-dollar luxury empire while staying true to his humanistic values and commitment to ethical business practices and fine craftsmanship. This is an inside look at the extraordinary life and career of the man behind a luxury fashion empire built on the principles of humanity and artistry. Having grown up in a rural agricultural community, Brunello began his eponymous company in 1978 and soon became dubbed “The King of Cashmere”. This documentary by Giuseppe Tornatore presents an intimate portrait of Brunello Cucinelli, a “philosopher-designer” revered for his distinctive integration of humanistic values, craftsmanship and ethical entrepreneurship. (Subtitles)
ITALY 2025 GIUSEPPE TORNATORE 120M Fri 14 Aug 15:00 - Lumiere
OPEN 7 days a week for breakfast, brunch and lunch
Proud supporters of the Slow Food movement, serving seasonal dishes made with locally sourced ingredients and care for people and the planet.
Open Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings from 5pm available for private hire
40 East Street, Chichester, PO19 1HX 01243 769058 www.thebarnlittlelondon.com
Mon 17 Aug 16:00 - Lumiere
Wed 19 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
Fri 21 Aug 13:30 - Auditorium
Sun 23 Aug 10:45 - Auditorium
Preview - Palestine/USA
When three American doctors of three different faiths enter Gaza to save lives, they find themselves caught between medicine and politics.
We follow three prominent physicians - Palestinian, Jewish and Zoroastrian/Persian - friends who could not be more different but are bound by their shared oath to save lives. Dr. Thaer Ahmad is measured and strategic, Dr. Mark Perlmutter is blunt and wears his heart on his sleeve and Dr. Feroze Sidhwa is media-savvy and prolific. Filmed in unfolding, on-the-ground scenes, the story follows them from a Gazan hospital under siege, to the halls of Congress. This is an unflinching view of a story we have heard about but might not fully understand. (Some subtitles)
PALESTINE/USA 2026 POH SI TENG 91M
UK Premiere - Germany/France/Senegal
GERMAINE ACOGNY: DIE ESSENZ DES TANZES
Germaine Acogny is not only the “Mother of African Contemporary Dance”, but also one of Africa’s most important artistic voices and the dancing icon of an entire continent.
One of Africa’s most influential artists, Germaine Acogny is a pioneer in blending traditional West African dance with European influences. She created the Acogny Technique, which has shaped contemporary dance worldwide. With over 50 years of performing and teaching, the 80-year-old dance icon received the Golden Lion for Dance at the 2021 Venice Dance Festival for her lifetime achievements. (Subtitles)
GERMANY/FRANCE/SENEGAL 2025
GRETA-MARIE BECKER 88M
The first official biography on rock and roll icon and pioneer Eddie Cochran, chronicling his extraordinary but tragically short life. Cochran’s influence is immeasurable. At just 21, he left behind a body of work that would inspire generations - his unforgettable hits include ‘C’mon Everybody’ and ‘Summertime Blues’. This intimate portrait weaves neverbefore-seen archival material with powerful testimonies from some of the greatest names in music and culture, including Keith Richards, Sting, Sir Rod Stewart, Kiefer Sutherland, Linda Perry, John Waters, Yungblud, Ronnie Wood and Billy Idol. This film explores the duality of Eddie’s life: a young man brimming with joy and possibility, and an artist whose voice continues to echo long after his untimely death.
UK 2026 KIRSTY BELL 95M
Sat 15 Aug 17:30 - Lumiere
THE 30TH ANNIVERSARY CUT
With Glastonbury Festival not taking place this summer, we have a rare and timely proposition for film and music lovers alike. This is the definitive cinematic record of one of the significant moments in British cultural history - the Glastonbury Festival of 1993. A 4K remaster in original CinemaScope format, with a new Dolby 5.1 surround mix and graded from scratch, this is not a restoration. It is a reinvention!
Shot using the same Panavision CinemaScope cameras and lenses as the great Hollywood epics, the film captures three days of music, magic and midsummer madness from the ground level up - the point of view not of the elite, but of the festival goer. There is no narration. No captions. No backstage access. Just the raw, unfiltered, gloriously human experience of being there. It was 1993. The BBC had not yet arrived. The fence was still permeable. There were no phone masts. Half the people there had bunked in and hardly anyone knew who was on the main stage. Popular culture in the UK was poised on the edge of a seismic shift. “A masterpiece.” - Mike Leigh.
UK 1996 ROBIN MAHONEY 88M
Mon 17 Aug 20:15 - Lumiere
50 YEARS OF PUNK ROCK
Some 50 years after the British Punk explosion, this documentary follows four bands that are still active today and features interviews with Punk Rock luminaries in search for the meaning of Punk and the relevance of its message today.
Five decades after the explosive birth of British Punk which shook the foundations of music and culture, ‘Vive Le Punk’ dives headfirst into the raw, undying spirit of the movement that changed music - and society - forever... or did it? Featuring four iconic bands still rocking the stage todaySham 69, 999, Ruts DC, and The Boys - the film chronicles their enduring legacy while showcasing their ongoing journeys in the modern era. Through exclusive interviews, candid conversations and behind-the-scenes access, we follow these Punk pioneers and speak to a powerhouse lineup of Punk luminaries - Charlie Harper (UK Subs), Joe Corré (Punk entrepreneur and son of Malcolm McLaren and Vivienne Westwood), Dr. John Cooper Clarke (Punk poet laureate), Gaye Advert (The Adverts) and author/DJ Chris Sullivan among others, who share their reflections on the movement’s lasting impact. This film will appeal to every generation of rebels, misfits and outsiders. Punk may have started as anarchy in the streets, but it’s far from finished. Vive le Punk!
UK 2025 DANNY GARCIA 95M
This year we introduce a new venue to the Chichester International Film Festival – CineVic at the Victoria Institute in Arundel.
Four nights. Four specially selected documentary films. Four very diverse topics. Poet in residence, Chris Warren-Adamson, will be enhancing each screening with his unique take on the film of the night.
Tickets £10, available at thevictoriainstitute.com or on the door.
The Victoria Institute, 10 Tarrant Street, Arundel BN18 9DG.
Fri 14 Aug 19:30 - CineVic
Tickets £10
A tragic event is the trigger for two wonderful sisters to take to the streets, confronting corruption and reclaiming safe public space for women and girls, all through the truth that only a performance from the heart can bring. After 41 girls are killed in a State-run “Safe Home” and the government refuses to act, the sisters respond with a community Comparsa - an organised street performance featuring towering puppets, fire-breathing stilt walkers and thundering drums. With brave vulnerability, they expose a system that permits and commits violence against women, and they open up about surviving violence in their own home. Their courage and determination are at the heart of this beautiful film. The result of a 17-year relationship between participants and the film team, this vibrant, award- winning story will ignite/reignite your belief in the power of youth, family and community. (Subtitles)
GUATAMALA/US 2025 VICKIE CURTIS & DOUG ANDERSON 78M
Sun 16 Aug 19:30 -
CineVic
Tickets £10
In 1999, the unlikely duo of Swiss explorer Bertrand Piccard and British flying instructor Brian Jones take on the world’s leading aeronauts and billionaires in a race to become the first people to fly nonstop around the world in a balloon. In the UK we were captivated by Sir Richard Branson’s attempt to seize this prize… but there was another story. In the winter of 1999, Piccard and Jones took off from Switzerland on their shot at the last great aviation challenge of the 20th century. As rival teams lifted off across the world, they left their families behind and soared towards Taiwan. Then things got a little more threatening. This exhilarating documentary looks at what it takes to write yourself into the history books; the courage, the cost, the impact on those in the air and those left on the ground. Two men, suspended in a pressurised capsule below a very large balloon, committing their lives to the vagaries of the world’s winds and weather at 30,000 feet. Strap yourself in.
UK/US/AUSTRIA 2025 JOHN DOWER 86M
Tue 18 Aug 19:30 -
CineVic
Tickets
Thu 20 Aug 19:30 –
CineVic
Tickets
£10
Of all the debates in our country, the ‘Right to Roam’ is, intrinsically, a very dangerous path… then along comes a beautifully made film that embraces fair and inclusive discussion. Could there be a way through?
In the words of The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw, “Orban Wallace’s documentary avoids big clashes between landowners and campaigners in favour of wide-ranging exploration”. The question still remains: who has the right to roam the English countryside? In England, 92% of the land and 97% of all rivers are not legally accessible. At the same time, it is a landscape shaped by centuries of inheritance and tradition, with land held and cared for by families across multiple generations. This highly watchable film brings these opposing worlds together and explores issues like barriers to connection for people of different backgrounds and communities. With an introduction to the history of the land justice debate by renowned nature writer Robert Macfarlane, animated by May Kindred Boothby, ‘Our Land’ supplies a crafted and illuminating map. Watch this space.
UK 2026 ORBAN WALLACE 90M
Ex-Google executive, Mo Gawdat, is a compelling voice on a compelling mission - yes there are so many scary reasons to fear the power of artificial intelligence (AI), but what if you could wire it to be benevolent, altruistic, compassionate? Or is that just laughably naive?
Mo is a very interesting man with a very interesting story. In this highly cinematic film, Mo travels the world talking to AI experts and pioneers like Geoffrey Hinton, Fei-Fei Li, Yoshua Bengio, Sam Altman and Max Tegmark. He is exploring, probing at the coal face of the technology and the huge issues it brings thundering towards us. The potential threats are all there: mass surveillance, automated warfare and job displacement. But, and it is a very urgent ‘but’, what if we bring to bear humanity’s capacity for positivity, ethics and empathy to safely guide neural networks and prevent a dystopian future? This is the challenge we all face. One laid out by a vivid communicator, eminently qualified to enlighten and guide. It is big thinking, approachable, engaging; could it be our future?
UK 2026 ALEX HOLMES AND LINA ZILINSKAITE 84M
Sat 22 Aug 13:00 - Auditorium
UK Premiere - UK AMR:
This feature documentary examines a new global pandemic. It also uses a very clever yet chilling narrative device: we witness the unfolding story through the eyes of the threat itself, given voice by the legendary actor Brian Cox.
Antimicrobial Resistance (AMR), the silent threat poised to shatter the foundations of global health, food systems, the environment and economic stability as we know it. This is not just a medical issue - this is an existential crisis. The World Health Organization warns that AMR, the insidious rise of drug-resistant superbugs, now stands shoulder-toshoulder with the most terrifying dangers facing humanity, threatening to drag us back into a pre-antibiotic era where even minor infections could prove deadly. This film unflinchingly exposes the root causes, devastating impact and the urgent, radical measures needed to stop AMR’s relentless advance - before we stumble into a new global pandemic, one far worse than Covid-19.
UK 2025 ALEX TWEDDLE
We hope to welcome director Alex Tweddle, writer Dame Sally Davies, Dr Yusuf Hamied and Lord Darzi for a panel discussion after the film.
Fri 21 Aug 16:00 - Lumiere
Winner of the 2025 Crystal Globe (Best Film) at the prestigious Karlovy Vary Film Festival in Prague, this is a fantastical, hybrid-documentary about a pair of Czech twins who live off grid in the Bohemian forest.
Twin brothers Franta and Ondra share everything in the Sumava Mountains. They live a secluded, poetic and sometimes absurd life in an abandoned mountain farm, sharing everything from tending animals to philosophising and bickering. Though identical, their souls differ - Franta seeks freedom while Ondra needs routine. It seems that they’ve never grown up, and viewed through the lens of so-called civilisation, their world shows signs of absurdity. Soon, their unbreakable bond will face the ultimate test. This is an anarchic spin on creating one’s own ‘wellness culture’, as well as a wonderfully funny portrait of fraternal love and a sideways look at our place in society/nature. Tragically, subject František Klišík passed away aged 62 just hours after the film’s victory at Karlovy Vary, making the documentary a poignant swansong. (Subtitles) CZECHIA 2025 MIRO REMO 84M
Sun 23 Aug 13:30 - Lumiere
LE CICOGNE DI CHERNOBYL
Hundreds of thousands of children from areas contaminated by the 1986 Chernobyl nuclear disaster found hospitality in Italy thanks to the “Solidarity Reception Projects”.
Some of the protagonists look back on the traumatic experience, which changed their lives. Stories sometimes marked by pain but later transformed into hope by the love of families who opened their hearts and homes in a new and unknown country. What becomes apparent is the extraordinary ability of the children from the contaminated areas to adapt, and to overcome deep psychological traumas and immense difficulties, to rebuild a new life and achieve great things. The title of the film is drawn from the local stork population, which is culturally symbolic in Ukraine, that had not nested back in Chernobyl since the disaster, until recently when six were spotted settling near the exclusion zone. (Subtitles)
ITALY 2025 KARIM GALICI 65M
Sun 23 Aug 15:15 - Lumiere
A deeply moving and profoundly human film, this is Liudmyla Doroshenko’s story of courage, resilience and hope.
Living an ordinary life in Kyiv, everything changed for Liudmyla on 24 February 2022, when the war in Ukraine forced her to make an impossible choice: to protect her son Nazar by leaving behind the home, family, culture and life she loved. Told in Liudmyla’s own words, with honesty, emotion and quiet strength, the film follows her journey into the unknown - a journey first thought to be only for a few days, but which has now stretched into more than four years. Arriving in Chichester with the support of generous host families, Liudmyla begins the process of rebuilding her life while holding tightly to her Ukrainian identity. Powerful, intimate and unforgettable, her story stands for many thousands more, shining a light on the resilience, dignity and determination of the Ukrainian people.
UK 2026 RICHARD PLOWMAN 31M
This special screening will include a choir of young Ukrainian singers and a short Q&A with Daria Mattingly following the film.
In this strand, we celebrate some true cinematic legends. Robert Redford, the American actor, director and producer, celebrated for his magnetic presence and his work with the Sundance Film Festival and Institute, gets a full strand (see pg40); we present two films with French actress, singer, model and animal rights activist Brigitte Bardot; and one film with American actress Diane Keaton who broke out in ‘The Godfather’ and then won an Oscar collaborating with Woody Allen.
Besides these three icons of cinema (who all passed away in the last 12 months), we celebrate 100 years since the birth of Marilyn Monroe with two of her classic films; we give you two new 4K remasters from Claude Chabrol; a stunning new print of ‘La Piscine’ featuring Alain Delon, Jane Birkin and Romy Schneider; alongside a few more treasures sprinkled across other strands.
Thu 13 Aug 10:45 – Auditorium
Sat 15 Aug 17:00 - Windmill
To commemorate the centenary of Marilyn Monroe’s birth, we present this newly remastered ‘anti-Western’ classic - Monroe’s last film.
Beautiful ex-stripper Roslyn Taber (Marilyn Monroe) ends up meeting aging cowboy- turned-gambler Gay Langland (Clark Gable) and former World War II aviator Guido Racanelli (Eli Wallach). The two men become infatuated with Roslyn and, on a whim, the three decide to move in together. When grizzled ex-rodeo rider Perce Howland (Montgomery Clift) arrives, the unlikely foursome strike up a business capturing wild horses. Monroe gives an extraordinary performance – her best in a tragically curtailed career, and Gable has never done anything better on the screen. Coincidently, ‘The Misfits’ ended up being the final film for both of these Hollywood superstars.
USA 1961 JOHN HUSTON 125M
In our second tribute to Marilyn Monroe, we present Howard Hawks’ screwball comedy musical, which scores a full five stars from The Guardian’s Peter Bradshaw.
Lorelei Lee (Monroe) is a beautiful showgirl engaged to be married to the wealthy Gus Esmond (Tommy Noonan), much to the disapproval of Gus’ rich father, Esmond Sr. (Taylor Holmes), who thinks that Lorelei is just after his money. When Lorelei goes on a cruise accompanied only by her best friend, Dorothy Shaw (Jane Russell), Esmond Sr. hires detective Ernie Malone (Elliott Reid) to report any questionable behaviour. Monroe and Russell - one diamond-obsessed golddigger and one sassy-tongued romantic - convey a sparkling magnetism, nowhere more apparent than when Monroe sings ‘Diamonds Are a Girl’s Best Friend’.
USA 1953 HOWARD HAWKS 91M
Mon 17 Aug 10:45 – Auditorium
THE UNFAITHFUL WIFE
A first-class Claude Chabrol mystery – the first of two in this Festival – where a man begins to believe his wife is cheating on him. 4K remaster.
Charles Desvallées (Michel Bouquet), a successful insurance broker, employs a private investigator on suspicion that his wife, Hélène (Stéphane Audran), is cheating on him. After acquiring evidence of his wife’s infidelity, Charles confronts and murders Hélène’s lover, Victor Pégala (Maurice Ronet). When the police question the married couple about their connection to the murdered man, both Hélène and Charles continue their perilous dance of deception. The three main characters give terrific performances, each conveying their strengths, weaknesses and charms. It’s a brilliant scrutiny of the middle-class that evokes both cynicism and sympathy for them as they discover each other’s secrets. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 1969 CLAUDE CHABROL 93M
Thu 20 Aug 10:45 – Auditorium
THE BUTCHER
Claude Chabrol’s 1970 jewel of a thriller about a butcher, a schoolteacher and a murder gets a 4K remastering. Chabrol enters ‘Hitchcock’ territory in this masterful film. At a wedding in a quiet rural French village, school headmistress Helene (Stéphane Audran) meets local butcher Popaul (Jean Yanne), whose boyish charm draws her out of her shell. But shortly after their relationship begins, a string of murders surrounds the village, and, when Helene recognises an item she had given Popaul near one of the crime scenes, she begins to suspect he may be the murderer. This is Chabrol at his best, spinning an eerie psychological thriller, whose likeable characters and the nostalgic village they live in are painted with a master’s elegant brushstrokes. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 1970 CLAUDE CHABROL 93M
Mon 17 Aug 15:00 – Auditorium
THE SWIMMING POOL
4K Remaster
An obscenely beautiful couple spend lazy holidays at their idyllic villa. However, when a friend and his attractive young daughter show up, the dreamy summer days are suddenly filled with unspoken tension and jealousy.
In this erotically charged 1960s French classic, Alain Delon and Romy Schneider play advertising executive Jean-Paul and journalist Marianne, gorgeous lovers who appear to be gloriously happy in a sumptuous villa in the South of France. When Jean-Paul’s friend and music executive Harry (Maurice Ronet) arrives in his glinting burgundy Maserati alongside his beautiful daughter Pénélope (Jane Birkin), Jean Paul’s attention is immediately refocused. What transpires over the next few days of al fresco mornings, frisky afternoons and alcohol-laced nights is a vibrating psychodrama about possessiveness and insecurity. Jacques Deray’s languid thriller is a tour de force of sexual longing and controlled suspense, filmed with a kaleidoscope of impressive blues, none more so than Alain Delon’s tantalising eyes. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 1969 JACQUES DERAY 122M
Wed 19 Aug 19:30 - Windmill
We celebrate Diane Keaton after her passing in October 2025 with a screening of her first New York-set collaboration with Woody Allen. Isaac (Allen) is a comedy writer and would-be novelist dating Tracy, a 17-year-old student (Mariel Hemingway), but he falls for Mary (Keaton), the highly-strung neurotic journalist that his married buddy Yale (Michael Murphy) is seeing on the side. Nominated for two Academy Awards, and considered one of Allen’s most enduring accomplishments, ‘Manhattan’ is a wry, touching and finely rendered portrait of modern relationships set against the backdrop of urban alienation. New York has never been so sumptuously photographed, here in glorious black and white cinemascope and accompanied by a magnificent Gershwin score, an extremely funny screenplay and one of the most spectacular and memorable openings to a film. Also co-stars Meryl Streep.
USA 1979 WOODY ALLEN 95M
Fri 21 Aug 10:45 - Auditorium
In sunny St. Tropez, a beautiful young woman - Brigitte Bardot – is in love with one brother but marries the other. This is the first of two Festival films presented in tribute to Bardot. Bardot plays 18-year-old Juliette, an orphan living with an older disapproving provincial couple intent on returning her to the orphanage where they got her. Eric Carradine (Curd Jurgens) is a millionaire powerbroker pushing 60 who wants to build a large hotel in the Riveria town. A capitalist exploiter of all he sees, Carradine has Juliette in his sights. When Eric takes possession of a shipyard run by brothers Michel (Jean-Louis Trintignant) and Antoine (Christian Marquand), who also have their eye on Juliette, things get even more complicated. By today’s standards the film is relatively tame, but back in 1956 it was condemned by some moral and cultural gatekeepers and critics as scandalous. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 1956 ROGER VADIM 90M
Sat 22 Aug 10:30 – Auditorium
In memory of screen legend (and polarising celebrity) Brigitte Bardot, we present the 1960 French drama in which a liberated small-town girl stands on trial to determine whether she killed her lover in a crime of passion or in premeditation.
The beautiful and ravishing Dominique Marceau (Bardot) escapes her provincial life for freewheeling bohemian Paris only to find herself standing trial for the accidental murder of her lover (Sami Frey), a young but promising conductor. As the prosecution and the defence spar over what led her to such violence, Dominique’s life is laid bare. Clouzot’s film pushed the boundaries of its era, a scathing examination of the way in which patriarchal societies exert control over women through hypocritical moralising. The director, already known for ‘Le Corbeau’, ‘Les Diaboliques’ and ‘The Wages of Fear’ at the time, captured Bardot at her most dynamic in a performance that rivals any of her work with New Wave colleagues. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 1960 HENRI-GEORGES CLOUZOT 127M
Thu 13 Aug 19:30 - Windmill
Two grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con, in this second acting partnership between Robert Redford and Paul Newman after ‘Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid’ four years earlier.
Following the murder of a mutual friend, aspiring con man Johnny Hooker (Robert Redford) teams up with old pro Henry Gondorff (Paul Newman) to take revenge on the ruthless crime boss responsible, Doyle Lonnegan (Robert Shaw). Hooker and Gondorff set about implementing an elaborate scheme, one so crafty that Lonnegan won’t even know he’s been swindled. As their big con unfolds, however, things don’t go according to plan, requiring some lastminute improvisation by the undaunted duo. This film is proof that some charm, clever humour, true love of the filmmaking process and a few slick twists can add up to a magnificent film. It goes without saying that Newman and Redford radiate charisma and the jaunty Scott Joplin soundtrack is the icing on the cake.
USA 1973 GEORGE ROY HILL 129M
In this multiple Oscar-winning classic, two reporters uncover the details of the Watergate scandal that leads to President Richard Nixon’s resignation.
Two green rival reporters working for the Washington Post, Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman), research the botched 1972 burglary of the Democratic Party Headquarters at the Watergate apartment complex. With the help of a mysterious source, code-named Deep Throat (Hal Holbrook), they make a connection between the burglars and a White House staffer. Despite dire warnings, the duo follows the money all the way to the top. It’s rare that a film sets out to capture the spirit of a time and actually pulls it off, and Redford’s acting has never looked more effortless than in this role.
USA 1976 ALAN J. PAKULA 138M
Mon 17 Aug 11:00 – Lumiere
In our most recent Redford offering of this tribute, we present a story based on the real-life Forrest Tucker (Robert Redford). From his audacious escape from San Quentin at the age of 70 to an unprecedented string of heists that confounded authorities and enchanted the public.
Wrapped up in the pursuit are detective John Hunt (Casey Affleck), who becomes captivated by Forrest’s commitment to his craft, and a woman (Sissy Spacek) who loves him in spite of his chosen profession.
Like Redford, Spacek is still radiant on screen, and these two legends - who, unbelievably, have never appeared together in a film before - have wonderful chemistry. Almost 60 years after Robert Redford started his acting career in a TV Western called ‘Maverick’ in 1960, he performed his swansong here with his final film as an actor. With the skill, or luck, of having a beautifully matched cast, this film serves as a fitting farewell to a legend.
USA 2018 DAVID LOWERY 93M
A talk looking back at the illustrious career of a giant of American cinema.
Robert Redford, who died last year, was an extraordinary presence on the big screen for decades, much loved for his acting skills, his choice of films and, let’s face it, his looks. But the greater part of his legacy could lie behind the camera, as director but also as facilitator of independent filmmakers with his Sundance Institute. In this talk, Sandy Guthrie of the Cinema Education Team, will consider the mark Redford has left on the film industry. We will consider how ‘The Way We Were’ and ‘The Great Gatsby’ sit alongside ‘Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid’ and ‘The Sting’, while overtly political movies of the calibre of ‘Three Days of the Condor’ and ‘All the President’s Men’ might contrast with ‘Out of Africa’ or ‘The Old Man & the Gun’.
100M INC Q&A
Tue 18 Aug 10:30 - Lumiere
A mountain man who wishes to live the life of a hermit becomes the unwilling object of a long vendetta by the Crow tribe and proves to be a match for their warriors in single combat on the early frontier.
A Mexican-American War veteran, Jeremiah Johnson (Robert Redford), heads to the mountains to live in isolation. Woefully unequipped for the task at hand, Johnson is fortunate to come across Bear Claw (Will Geer), a seasoned mountain man willing to teach him the necessary survival tactics. As life continues in the mountains, Johnson finds himself a native bride (Delle Bolton) and an adopted son (Josh Albee). However, their peaceful existence is threatened when Johnson incurs the ire of the Crow Indians. Director Sydney Pollack (‘Out of Africa’, ‘The Firm’) keeps the dialogue spare and projects the magnificent Colorado Rocky Mountains landscape forward as the real star, right alongside the equally beautiful and rugged Redford of course.
USA 1972 SYDNEY POLLACK 108M
Wed 19 Aug 10:30 - Auditorium
A diametrically opposed couple come together only to find out that genuine friendship and physical attraction are not enough to overcome their fundamental differences. Opposites attract when, during their college days, Katie Morosky (Barbra Streisand), an idealistic, mouthy political activist, has an unrequited crush on Hubbell Gardiner (Robert Redford), the clever, WASPy, all-American, apolitical, campus idol for whom everything comes too easy. Years later, in the wake of World War II, they meet again and, despite their obvious differences, marry. Against the backdrop of the Macarthy witch-hunts their personal styles and ideologies clash once more and Katie’s uncompromising activism clashes with her husband’s submissive, conformist principles. The two leads have wonderful chemistry. Redford is impossibly handsome and glows on screen, and Streisand is magnificent and beautiful as the feisty campaigner. In director Sydney Pollack’s hands it is so much more than a romance, and it evokes brilliantly the jittery paranoia pervading Hollywood at the time of the blacklists. A rare chance to see this classic on the big screen.
USA 1973 SYDNEY POLLACK 118M
Thu 20 Aug 10:30 - Lumiere
In a film that straddles two of our Festival strands (Redford and Prisons), we follow the new prison warden who tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate. Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford) witnesses first hand the corruption and abuse inflicted upon the prisoners by the staff of a small Arkansas prison by going in undercover as an inmate. After revealing his true identity, Brubaker brings much-needed reform to the prison with the help of supporters Dickie Coombes (Yaphet Kotto) and Lillian Gray (Jane Alexander). When the benefactors of the old corrupt system are threatened by the changes, Brubaker’s battles really begin. Based on a real-life case from 1960s Arkansas, this dramatic film with a heavy social conscience includes a great supporting cast of well-known faces, including Morgan Freeman in one of his very first feature films.
USA 1980 STUART ROSENBERG 131M
Sun 23 Aug 11:00 - Lumiere
We are pleased to include Robert Redford’s directorial debut in this tribute… and what a film it is! Winner of four Oscars in 1981, including the big two of Best Picture and Best Director (even beating ‘Raging Bull’).
Tormented by guilt following the accidental death of his older brother in a sailing accident, alienated teenager Conrad Jarrett (Timothy Hutton, the youngest-ever winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar) attempts suicide. Returning home following an extended stay in a psychiatric hospital, Conrad tries to deal with his mental anguish and to reconnect with his emotionally unavailable mother, Beth (an astonishing Mary Tyler Moore), who tacitly blames him for the accident, and his overly accommodating father, Calvin (Donald Sutherland), with the help of his psychiatrist, Dr. Berger (a career-best Judd Hirsch). Redford’s transition from a major Hollywood leading man to a behind-the-camera visionary redefined his career. His nuanced, sensitive direction, along with the raw unflinching, performances he draws from the film’s cast, created a lasting cinematic touchstone regarding mental health, grief and the importance of open communication. Not to be missed.
USA 1980 ROBERT REDFORD 124M
Mon 17 Aug 18:15 - Lumiere
Fri 21 Aug 20:45
- Lumiere
Sun 23 Aug 20:15
– Lumiere
Lynne Ramsay announced herself as a director to take notice of in her first feature, which sees a naïve young lad navigate the squalid streets of 1973 Glasgow and the poor youth around him.
James Gillespie (William Eadie) is 12 years old. The world he knew is changing. Haunted by a secret, he has become a stranger in his own family and is drawn to the canal where he creates a world of his own. He finds an awkward tenderness with Margaret Anne (Leanne Mullen), a vulnerable 14-year-old expressing a need for love in all the wrong ways, and befriends Kenny (John Miller), who possesses an unusual innocence despite the harsh surroundings. What is so striking and eerie about ‘Ratcatcher’ is Ramsay’s brilliant way of rendering a trance-like, epiphanic child’s-eye-view of a hundred little things that present themselves to James’ senses.
UK 1999 LYNNE RAMSAY 94M
Tilda Swinton is astounding as a mother who struggles to love her child because of the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up.
Eva (Swinton) is a travel writer who gives up her beloved freedom and Bohemian lifestyle to have a child with her husband, Franklin (John C. Reilly). Pregnancy does not seem to agree with Eva, but what’s worse, when she does give birth to a baby boy named Kevin (Ezra Miller), she can’t seem to bond with him. When Kevin grows from a fussy, demanding toddler into a sociopathic teen, Eva is forced to deal with the aftermath of her son’s horrific act. Ramsay is a filmmaker with an uncommon gift for getting at the inner psychology of her characters through striking visuals. This thoughtful, unnerving film is extraordinary, working its strange power over viewers who will find themselves both repelled and compelled by its fatally flawed key players.
UK 2011 LYNNE RAMSAY 112M
In one of film critic Mark Kermode’s favourite films of 2025, a mother struggles to maintain her sanity after having a child. Lynne Ramsay’s latest work is further proof of its director’s immense skill.
In a remote forgotten rural area, Grace (Jennifer Lawrence, who is outstanding) is an aspiring writer who moves from New York to the countryside with her partner Jackson (Robert Pattinson). The couple’s new life has the potential to be idyllic. They are fiercely in love, surrounded by woods and meadows, allowing Grace the peace and freedom to write a novel. But once a baby comes into their life, Grace becomes blearily adrift from reality, brilliantly conveyed by the director using a variety of cinematic techniques. The film’s dark tones are cleverly balanced with touches of dark humour.
USA/CANADA/UK 2025 LYNNE RAMSAY 118M
Fri 21 Aug 13:30 - Lumiere
Aug 20:15 - Lumiere
This talk, illustrated by a range of film clips, will celebrate what is becoming a golden age for British women film directors.
Lynne Ramsay and Andrea Arnold’s work has shaped the landscape of contemporary British cinema through their authentic depictions of working class characters. Ramsay’s visually poetic style is imbued with a dream-like surrealism, expressed through her films like ‘Ratcatcher’ (1999) and ‘Die My Love’ (2025). Andrea Arnold has crafted a filmmaking style that captures the psychological states of her characters in ‘Fish Tank’ (2009) and ‘American Honey’ (2016). She has achieved this through a raw social realism and intimate cinematography that expresses character experiences through a focus on movement, dancing, and the body. Freelance researcher and writer on film Jade Evans will explore how both Ramsay and Arnold, as well as the films of their contemporaries, including Carol Morley’s ‘The Falling’ (2014) and Clio Barnard’s ‘The Selfish Giant’ (2013), have crafted distinctive filmmaking styles that capture the psychological states of their characters, and created stories that explore themes of girlhood and the working class experience.
100M INC Q&A
Everything changes for 15-year-old Mia when her mum brings home a new boyfriend. This Cannes Jury Prize-winner – only Andrea Arnold’s second feature - is gritty British realism at its very best. Mia (Katie Jarvis) is a rebellious teenager on the verge of being kicked out of school. Her hard-partying mother, Joanne (Kierston Wareing), neglects Mia’s welfare in favour of her own, and her younger sister (Rebecca Griffiths) hangs out with a much older crowd. Sparks fly between Mia and Connor (Michael Fassbender), Joanne’s new boyfriend, and he encourages Mia to pursue her interest in dance. As the boundaries of the relationships become blurred, Mia and Joanne compete for Connor’s affection. This is an unconventional coming-of-age story which won the Alexander Korda Award for Best British Film at the 2010 BAFTA Awards. UK 2009 ANDREA ARNOLD 123M
Tue 18 Aug 15:00 - Lumiere
Andrea Arnold’s gritty, naturalistic reimagining of the Emily Brontë classic stays true to the book’s spirit, while utilising an unconventional approach to explore the romantic yearning at the heart of the story. A poor boy of unknown origins is rescued from poverty and taken in by the Earnshaw family where he develops an intense relationship with his young foster sister, Cathy. As they grow to adulthood, Cathy (Kaya Scodelario) accepts a marriage proposal from their rich neighbour Edgar Linton (James Northcote); deeply angered and hurt, Heathcliff (James Howson) runs away and returns years later, obsessed with love and vengeance. The really impressive trait of Arnold’s adaptation is that it skilfully ditches all the period drama clichés to create a passionate, elemental drama, stripped ruthlessly down to its bare essentials: pain, anger and love.
UK 2011 ANDREA ARNOLD 129M
Thu 20 Aug 14:45 - Lumiere
Ten years on from its release, Andrea Arnold’s first US film is deeply moving, challenging and reveals her wonderful eye for the flotsam and jetsam of American society.
Star (Sasha Lane), an adolescent girl from a troubled home, runs away with a traveling sales crew who drive across the American Midwest selling subscriptions door to door. Finding her feet in this gang of youngsters, one of whom is Jake (Shia LaBeouf), she soon gets into the group’s hard-partying lifestyle. For what could be considered a 21st century version of Jack Kerouac’s ‘On the Road’, Arnold filmed hundreds of hours driving across the US with her mostly non-professional cast before distilling this epic result. Kerouac’s heroes were men; Arnold’s is an 18-year-old girl! It’s bold, captivating cinema, with a soundtrack that threatens to never leave your head.
USA 2016 ANDREA ARNOLD 162M
We pride ourselves on making the Festival accessible to as many people as possible, using the region’s heritage sites and constantly innovating to reach new audiences and make the festival a fun place to be!
New Park Road, Chichester PO19 7XY
Located in the Community Centre, the Festival’s home is in the Chichester Cinema. Our state-of-the art Auditorium includes Dolby sound, both digital and 35mm projection, and the comfiest seats in town! For access and parking details see pg69.
chichestercinema.org
Our unique, 80-seat, pop-up cinema comes complete with airconditioning, plush seating, superb sound and projection! Space for one wheelchair and both stepped and ramped access. The Lumiere is situated on site.
NB. As we lose some parking to accommodate The Lumiere, please ensure you leave enough time when arriving.
Windmill Road, Littlehampton BN17 5LH
Following two years of partnership this much loved local cinema will host eleven Festival films.
Access: Four wheelchair spaces which can be booked in person and online. The wheelchair spaces are at both ends of the front row on a flat floor. Access flat throughout. Disabled toilet. Induction loop in auditorium. Free car park after 18:00. windmillcinema.co.uk
We introduce a new venue situated at the Victoria Institute, Arundel, which will screen four documentaries. Access: No wheelchair access.
thevictoriainstitute.com
This historical Bognor Regis venue - operating since 1918joins the Festival fold, by screening two Polish films. bognor-regis.picturedromecinemas.co.uk
Thu 13 Aug 12:00 - Lumiere
A talk exploring the glories of 21st century Latin American cinema, including a wealth of stunning film clips.
As an introduction to the Latin American film strand at the Chichester International Film Festival, Deborah Shaw, Professor of Film and Screen Studies at the University of Portsmouth, and the author of several books on Latin American cinema, will give a talk celebrating cinema from the region. In the talk, illustrated with clips, she will highlight some of the most exciting films of recent years, including some of those featuring in this year’s Film Festival, and discuss what makes them special. Latin American filmmakers, including Walter Salles (‘The Motorcycle Diaries’ and ‘I’m Still Here’) and Kleber Mendonça Filho (‘The Secret Agent’) have a talent for applying creative cinematic techniques and compelling storytelling to illustrate social and political themes. Join us for an engaging exploration of Latin American cinema, where vibrant storytelling meets political vision and cultural depth.
100M INC Q&A
Thu 13 Aug 17:30 - Lumiere
DIARIOS DE MOTOCICLETA
Ernesto Guevara de la Serna, popularly known as Che, along with his friend Alberto Granado, decides to take a road trip across South America. His experiences on the journey transform him.
On a break before his last semester of medical school, Ernesto “Che” Guevara (Gael García Bernal) travels with his friend Alberto (Rodrigo de la Serna) from Brazil to Peru by motorcycle. The two men soon witness the great disparities in South America, encountering poor peasants and observing the exploitation of labour by wealthy industrialists. The extent of Ernesto’s transformation becomes most evident when we see his reaction to sufferers in a Peruvian leper colony which lays the foundation for what was to come in his extraordinary life. You will get so caught up in the beauty of the images and lost in the weathered faces found along the way, you may quite forget that you are travelling with Che Guevara. This is a soulful and reflective epic of a road movie blessed by great chemistry between the two leads. (Subtitles)
FRANCE/UK/ARGENTINA 2004
WALTER SALLES 126M
Thu 13 Aug 20:00 - Lumiere
Mexico
Alejandro González Iñárritu’s emotional, ambitious and vivid debut film caught everyone’s attention years before his two consecutive Best Director Oscars for ‘Birdman’ (2015) and ‘The Revenant’ (2016).
An amateur dog fighter, a supermodel and a derelict assassin, all separately struggling to find love, find their lives transformed by a devastating car wreck in Mexico City. Inventively structured as a triptych of overlapping and intersecting narratives, ‘Amores Perros’ explores the lives of disparate characters who are catapulted into unforeseen dramatic situations instigated by the seemingly inconsequential destiny of a dog named Cofi. Not only was this one of the outstanding debut Latin American films for any director, but it was also actor Gael García Bernal’s first film, propelling him to star in ‘Y Tu Mama Tambien’ the following year, as well as working with Pedro Almodóvar in ‘Bad Education’ and starring as Che Guevara in ‘The Motorcycle Diaries’. (Subtitles)
MEXICO 2000 ALEJANDRO
Fri 14 Aug 20:00 - Auditorium Sat 15 Aug 19:30 - Windmill
O AGENTO SECRETO
Best Actor and Director awards at Cannes 2025. Brazil 1977: a technology expert flees from a mysterious past and returns to his hometown of Recife in search of peace. He soon realizes that the city is far from being the refuge he seeks.
Widower Marcelo (Wagner Moura from ‘Narcos’) is travelling across Brazil to his son. In his previous life as an academic, he discovered information that implicates a government minister of corruption, and this minister needs Marcelo gone, so hires a couple of hitmen to find him. Marcelo is welcomed into a covert community of refugees, all in hiding from the dictatorship for one reason or another. It’s a family of sorts, presided over by 77-year-old den mother Dona Sebastiana (a wonderful Tania Maria who steals every scene she is in). The film’s visual brilliance, dark comedy treats, sensual big-city intrigue, ghastly lowlife walk-ons and perfectly paced storytelling combine to create something very special. Watch out for the nods to classic films such as ‘Jaws’, ‘The Omen’ and even Jean-Paul Belmondo in ‘Le Magnifique’, from where the film’s title is sourced. (Subtitles)
BRAZIL 2025 KLEBER MENDONÇA FILHO 161M
Sat 15 Aug 20:15
Sun 16 Aug 14:30
- Lumiere
Sun 16 Aug 17:15
- Lumiere
In the mountains of Patagonia, a young woman and her father live a life of near solitude. When the father disappears, the daughter descends the mountains to search for him.
Olivia (Tina Sconochini) lives with her aged widower father (Dario del Carmen Haro Santana) in the rugged foothills of Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, in a small, pyramidal hut. One day, her father suddenly and inexplicably disappears, so Olivia begins a search for him. While roaming around the stark building where her father works, Olivia finds Mari (Carolina Tejeda), who is to be her friend, or lover, or quasi-mother figure. This meditation on grief and loss from a new exciting female voice in Latin American cinema is like a dreamy poem on the screen, unlike anything currently on our screens. Let yourself be taken by this unique film. Filmed on moody 16mm Kodak Ektachrome film. (Subtitles)
ARGENTINA 2025 SOFÍA PETERSEN 127M
The encounter, apparent betrayal and finally life-affirming friendship between an Amazonian shaman (the last survivor of his people) and two foreign scientists. Karamakate (Nilbio Torres and Antonio Bolivar) is a Shaman who lives by himself in an ultra-remote corner of the Amazon, since his tribe was wiped out by white rubber barons. One day a canoe approaches the young Karamakate carrying a German anthropologist, Theo (Jan Bijvoet), who is deathly ill, and his loyal traveling companion, a one-time Amazonian slave named Manduca (Yauenku Migue). Shot in stunningly effective black-andwhite, the film captures the grandeur of the rainforest and the earthiness of Karamakate’s world. Spirituality is central to that world, and he has all sorts of mind-bending herbs (and philosophies) at his disposal. This film is gripping, challenging and engrossing, from beginning to end. A seriously good film! (Subtitles)
COLUMBIA/MEXICO/VENEZUELA 2015 CIRO GUERRA 119M
UK/Cuba
Chico is a young piano player with big dreams. Rita is a beautiful singer with an extraordinary voice. Music and romantic desire unite them, but their journey - in the tradition of the Latin ballad, the bolero - brings heartache and torment.
The passionate affair and professional partnership of Chico and Rita is endangered when a smooth-talking Yankee impresario tells Rita he can take her to showbiz glory in New York, but has no interest in Chico coming along as well. This beautifully designed 1940s-set animation for adults is a wonderfully passionate film. The great names of both Cuban and American jazz are invoked, and Chico and Rita’s tragicomic love story meshes very pleasingly with this musical backdrop. Oscar-nominated for Best Animated Feature in 2012, this is a romantic delight packed with cultural detail and flavour. (Subtitles)
UK/CUBA 2009 TONO ERRANDO, JAVIER MARISCAL & FERNANDO TRUEBA 94M
AINDA ESTOU AQUI
Winner of Best Foreign Film at the 2025 Oscars. A mother is forced to reinvent herself when her family’s life is shattered by an act of arbitrary violence during the tightening grip of a military dictatorship in Brazil.
Rio de Janeiro, 1970. The Paiva family lives in a rented house near the beach that is always full of friends. They are comfortable rather than rich, but they enjoy a different kind of wealth: an intellectual freedom and curiosity that feels increasingly precious as the Brazilian military dictatorship flexes its muscle on the streets outside. One day, men with guns come to take the father, Rubens (Selton Mello), in for questioning. In his absence, his wife Eunice (Fernanda Torres) must find a way to protect her five children and reinvent herself. Walter Salles’ (‘The Motorcycle Diaries’) superb factually-based film – he was a real-life friend of the Paiva family as a teenager – is an engrossing, affecting tribute to a formidable woman and her family. (Subtitles) BRAZIL/FRANCE 2024 WALTER SALLES 136M Tue 18 Aug 13:30 - Auditorium
Wed 19 Aug 20:30 - Auditorium
This electrifying, visceral picture is part tender coming-of-age film and part favela gang epic, a movie with dials cranked up to eleven – cinematography; music and sound; action; colour; heart; and incredible technical prowess.
In the poverty-stricken favelas (slums) of Rio de Janeiro in the 1970s, two young men choose different paths. Rocket (Phellipe Haagensen) is a budding photographer who documents the increasing drug-related violence of his neighbourhood. José “Zé” Pequeno (Douglas Silva) is an ambitious drug dealer who uses Rocket and his photos as a way to increase his fame as a turf war erupts with his rival, “Knockout Ned” (Leandro Firmino da Hora). What makes ‘City of God’ so breathtaking is director Meirelles’ passion for these people - he gives us the colour, the music and the humour, and brings out extraordinary performances from all, including many non-actors. “I’ve seen this film many times, and will be counting the days until I see it once again. When pushed, this is the film I choose as my favourite of all time.” Walter Francisco – Festival Director.
BRAZIL 2002 KÁTIA LUND/FERNANDO MEIRELLES 130M
Thu 20 Aug 18:00
Best Foreign Film Oscar winner in 2018. Sebastian Lelio’s film is a mesmerising piece of work, thanks to Daniela Vega’s powerful, award-worthy lead performance. Orlando (Francisco Reyes) is a middle-aged, silver-haired textile factory manager who falls in love with a young singer called Marina (Vega). After celebrating Marina’s birthday one evening, Orlando falls seriously ill, and in that moment, Marina’s seemingly stable world begins to crumble right before her eyes. She will have to battle the very same forces that she has spent a lifetime fighting just to become the woman she is now - a complex, strong, forthright and fantastic woman. Much will likely be made of the fact that Vega not only stars as a transgender woman, but is one herself, and delivers a star-making turn of quiet suffering and steely resolve, ably shouldering the dramatic load of a film that keeps her, at all times, front and centre. (Subtitles)
CHILE 2017 SEBASTIÁN LELIO 114M
Sat 22 Aug 18:15 - Lumiere
RELATOS SALVAJES
Argentina’s 2015 Best Foreign Film Oscar candidate turns six tales of revenge into one wild and crazy ride.
‘Wild Tales’ is a scabrous, portmanteau collection of short films about revenge, but they are so seamlessly constructed that the result feels as amazingly cohesive as it is relentlessly clever and wildly entertaining. Each of the six stories is enthralling, and all are united by a mordant black humour as well as a singular filmmaker - the very clever Damián Szifrón. Connected thematically in dealing with revenge and retribution, each segment sets up expectations that its successor ingeniously fulfils or surpasses. This portrait of a world on the verge of a nervous breakdown will make you gasp, wince and laugh out loud. Terrific fun. (Subtitles)
ARGENTINA 2015 DAMIÁN SZIFRÓN 122M
This Industry Day will feature free sessions for emerging screenwriters, offering opportunities to build connections, practical tools to hone your craft, and honest insights from career screenwriters. Whether you’re just starting to explore your first feature idea or you’re ready to apply for funding, there’s something here for you, and plenty of chances throughout the day to connect with fellow writers and filmmakers from the region.
WED 12 AUG 11:00 – 16:30 followed by networking drinks Vicars’ Hall, 12-13 South Street, Chichester PO19 1EH
10:00 – 11:00
ROUNDTABLE WITH BFI NETWORK TALENT EXECUTIVES
Have you heard of the BFI Early Development Fund? Join this roundtable with our BFI NETWORK Talent Executives to learn more about BFI NETWORK offerings for filmmakers in the South East. Please register separately.
11:00 – 11:30
ARRIVALS AND REGISTRATION
Pick up your pass for the main Industry Day and chat to other participants over tea or coffee.
11:30 – 12:45
SESSION 1: SHORT FILMS SCREENING + FILMMAKER Q&A
Join this screening of BFI NETWORK-funded short films, made by filmmakers from the region, who received BFI Early Development Funding to develop their feature script treatments. This session will give you insights into the experience of developing your story with BFI NETWORK funding support.
13:30 – 15:00
SESSION 2: MAKING YOUR STORY WORK
This interactive workshop with script editor Jessica Jones will provide practical knowledge about how to craft and pitch a feature-length project. The session will cover how to develop and structure your story idea to make it stand out, including what to put in a logline and how to write a compelling synopsis.
15:15 – 16:30
SESSION 3: IN CONVERSATION WITH JOY GHARORO-AKPOJOTOR
In this extended Q&A, the director and writer of ‘Dreamers’, Joy Gharoro-Akpojotor, will share her journey into film, discuss her projects to date, offer advice on entering the film industry, and share what she wishes she’d known when first starting out.
16:30 – 18:30
NETWORKING DRINKS (OPTIONAL)
Venue: Fernleigh, 40 North Street, Chichester PO19 1LX
Join us for free networking drinks and mingle with other emerging filmmakers in the area!
There will be breaks scheduled throughout the day, with teas and coffees provided. Lunch is not provided, but there are many food options available within a few minutes' walk of Vicars’ Hall.
SPEAKERS – Full speaker details can be found online.
This FREE event is made possible by National Lottery funding. @bfinetworkfhse @filmhubsw
Fri 14 Aug 11:00 - Auditorium
Sun 16 Aug 11:30 - Lumiere
Andrzej Wajda’s 1958 masterpiece. As World War II and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Soviet forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland. It’s VE Day, 8 May 1945 in a provincial Polish town, and Nazi Germany has just surrendered. The war is over, but not in Poland. As the German soldiers vacate, the remaining Russian forces and Polish resistance fighters must work out the hierarchies of power in “liberated” Communist Poland. A Polish assassin (Zbigniew Cybulski) is given orders to kill a Russian soldier (Waclaw Zastrzezynsky) whom he, days before, was fighting alongside, and this moral conflict makes him question the goals for which he has been fighting. Far from being a cause for celebration, the so-called end of the war marks a crisis of identity for their country. This is a stylish thriller flavoured with postwar political subtext, incendiary intellectual cinema that employs some striking imagery while relating its richly textured tale of a nation in turmoil. (Subtitles)
POLAND 1958 ANDRZEJ WAJDA 103M
Reflecting director Wajda’s emerging hostility to the Stalinist cultural establishment and its oppressive restrictions on artistic expression, he focuses on a propaganda hero from the 1950s who later fell out of favour and disappeared.
In repressive mid-1970s Poland, documentary filmmaker Agnieszka (Krystyna Janda) begins work on a film about Mateusz Birkut (Jerzy Radziwiłowicz), a bricklayer who had briefly been hailed as a hero of the proletariat in the 1950s, but then disappeared into obscurity. In piecing together details about the bricklayer’s mysterious life, she discovers that his involvement in organised labour had been viewed negatively by party bosses, and that her own investigations could put her in danger. ‘Man of Marble’ (named after the state-created marble statues of Birkut, used for propaganda) challenged the Communist authorities and their glorious portrayal of the past, and as a result Wajda’s humanistic film was delayed a release for four years. (Subtitles)
POLAND 1977 ANDRZEJ WAJDA 160M
Tue 18 Aug 13:00 - Lumiere
Fri 21 Aug 10:30 - Lumiere
To mark the centenary of his birth and ten years after his death, this talk will look back at the astonishing career of the Polish auteur. Creatively active for over six decades, Andrzej Wajda amassed one of the largest and most impressively wide-ranging bodies of work of any European filmmaker, although he kept returning obsessively to his core subject: the fate of his native Poland at pivotal historical junctures. He tackled the Napoleonic Wars, Poland’s turbocharged industrial revolution, the Katyń Massacre that killed his own father, the fate of Poland’s Jews, the Warsaw Uprising, life (and art) under Communism, as well as adaptations of great Polish literature, all invariably dramatised via unforgettably muscular images that drew extensively upon his early training as a painter. This heavily illustrated talk by longstanding Sight & Sound contributor Michael Brooke will range over Wajda’s entire film career, including such neglected areas as his little-seen 1990s output and the television work, while paying tribute to three great Polish stars that he discovered and nurtured: Zbigniew Cybulski, Daniel Olbrychski and Krystyna Janda.
100M INC Q&A
In what would be Andrzej Wajda’s final film (and rarely seen in the UK), this is the story of charismatic painter Wladyslaw Strzeminski, who opposed social realism and maintained his own artistic freedom in spite of political obstacles.
Polish avant-garde artist Strzeminski (Boguslaw Linda in a magisterial performance) lost a leg and arm fighting in World War I, and yet his passion for the transformative powers of art makes him whole. His injuries are merely a nuisance to be endured. He is a revered figure in the Polish art community, with a classroom packed with adoring students, but his painterly abstractions are toxic to the Communist authorities, who castigate as capitalist decadence all art that is not uplifting social realism. ‘Afterimage’ is angry, vivid and passionate – a fitting coda to the career of a director whose own work often clashed with Communist ideology. (Subtitles)
POLAND 2016 ANDRZEJ WAJDA 98M
Sat 22 Aug 13:15 - Lumiere
Masterfully crafted by an experienced directorial hand (Andrzej Wajda was 82 when he created this film), this is an examination of the 1940 Soviet slaughter of Polish officers and citizens in the Katyn Forest.
At the beginning of World War II, Soviet soldiers conduct a mass execution of 22,000 Polish prisoners of war in Katyn Forest in Western Russia - mainly military officers and professional-class civilians. With Hitler’s forces rapidly advancing into Eastern Europe, a surviving Polish officer, Lt. Jerzy (Andrzej Chyra), at great risk to his own life, chooses to stay behind with his wife, Anna (Maja Ostaszewska). As the Germans round up Lt. Jerzy and other officers, propaganda efforts cover up the truth about the Soviet soldiers’ shocking brutality. This is a powerful, personal depiction of a wartime tragedy. The victims of the Katyn Massacre included the director’s father, Captain Jacub Wajda. (Subtitles)
POLAND 2007 ANDRZEJ WAJDA 121M
Sun 23 Aug 20:00 - Picturedrome
Andrzej Wajda’s international breakout film. In 1944, during the Warsaw uprising against the Nazis, a group of Polish resistance fighters struggle to escape German encirclement.
As the Warsaw Uprising of WWII comes to an end, a modest band of Resistance members remains. They must take refuge in the sewers under the orders of leader Lieutenant Zadra (Wisczyslaw Glinski), but it’s only a matter of time before they will have to emerge. Despite their attempts to stay resolute through immense mental strain, it becomes increasingly apparent that they may be doomed. The film that brought international acclaim for the director, ‘Kanal’ is based on true events. It is an evocative portrait of the Polish resistance movement and a heartbreaking depiction of strength, duty and hope in the face of insurmountable odds. (Subtitles)
POLAND 1957 ANDRZEJ WAJDA 98M
We screen this brilliant 2018 Pawel Pawlikowski film to complement our Wajda strand (see pg24 for full details).
Wed 19 Aug 20:00 - Picturedrome
Sat 15 Aug 13:00 – Lumiere
A talk, illustrated by a range of captivating film clips, looking back at the prison movie setting. This talk, by Professor Emeritus of Cultural History Maggie Andrews, explores prison films, which have enthralled audiences and shaped attitudes towards the penal system since the silent era, when Buster Keaton’s ‘Convict 13’ (1920) was praised for its surreal hanging execution. A diverse range of films such as ‘La Grande Illusion’ (1937), ‘Yield to the Night’ (1956) and ‘Paddington 2’ (2017) will be discussed and it will be suggested that prison films tap into the audience’s desire for self-determination and their fears of oppressive authority, whilst also being grounded in the cultures from which they emerge. ‘Escape from Alcatraz’ (1979), for example, captured the pensive, melancholy tone of the USA at the time. ’The Shawshank Redemption’ (1979), which purports to portray the brutal reality of incarceration and the twee and upbeat ‘Greenfingers’ (2000) infinitely re-interpret stock characters and themes including the savvy lifer, the naive newbie and idea of redemption.
100M INC Q&A
Sat 15 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
Locked in her cell, a murderer reflects on the events that have led her to death row.
This Brit noir classic is a unique career achievement for Diana Dors as Mary Hilton, a woman awaiting execution for murder. The unhappily married Mary meets London nightclub piano player Jim (Michael Craig) when he comes into her store to buy perfume for his society girlfriend Lucy (Mercia Shaw). Things soon go awry when Mary confronts Lucy. The events leading up to Mary’s crime are intercut with her jail ordeal, attended by female “matrons” in the brightly lit cell, whose lights can never be dimmed because of suicide-watch surveillance. Interestingly, this screenplay was written one year before the last woman (Ruth Ellis) was executed in Britain, yet the film was released a year after the execution. The film was screened that year for Members of Parliament and probably influenced a bill to abolish the death penalty, eventually passed in 1965.
UK 1956 J. LEE THOMPSON 99M
Sun 16 Aug 10:45 - Auditorium
What is considered one of Jean Renoir’s greatest films, this is a profoundly humanistic war drama centring on French officers navigating class relationships in a German POW camp during World War 1. A group of French soldiers, including the patrician Captain de Boeldieu (Pierre Fresnay) and the working-class Lieutenant Maréchal (Jean Gabin), grapple with their own class differences after being captured and held in a World War I German prison camp. Following several escape attempts, the men are transferred to a high-security fortress where they must concoct a plan to escape beneath the watchful eye of aristocratic German officer von Rauffenstein (Erich von Stroheim), who has formed an unexpected bond with de Boeldieu. This is a masterful anti-war statement, bringing humane insight and an undercurrent of ironic humour to an unusual relationship between captor and captive. As Orson Welles said: “If I had to save only one film in the world, it would be ‘La Grande Ilusion”. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 1937 JEAN RENOIR 113M
Sun 16 Aug 19:30 - Lumiere
A young man struggles to get by in prison until he is taken under the wing of a powerful mob boss, but his gradual rise through the organisation’s ranks brings him in conflict with his mentor. This acclaimed crime drama follows Malik El Djebena (Tahar Rahim in his breakout performance), a delinquent young Muslim man, who is struggling to get by in a French prison. When he is taken under the wing of powerful Corsican mob boss Cesar Luciani (Niels Arestrup), he begins performing regular assignments for him, proving himself invaluable to the imposing criminal. As Malik rises in the mob ranks, he gains more power, but also more enemies, a situation that eventually brings conflict with his mentor. ‘Un Prophète’, from the masterful director Jacques Audiard, was nominated for the Best Foreign Film Oscar, won the BAFTA in that same category, and was awarded a staggering nine César Awards (French Film Academy) out of 13 nominations at the 2010 ceremony. A truly cracking thriller! (Subtitles) FRANCE 2009 JACQUES AUDIARD 155M
In a film that straddles two of our Festival strands (Redford and Prisons), we follow the new prison warden Henry Brubaker (Robert Redford) who tries to clean it up of corruption after initially posing as an inmate. (See pg44) USA 1980 STUART ROSENBERG 131M
Sun 16 Aug 18:00 - Windmill
In one of the most famous of all prisonset films, a laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison but refuses to conform.
When petty criminal Luke Jackson (Paul Newman) is sent to a Florida prison farm, he doesn’t play by the rules of either the sadistic warden (Strother Martin) or the yard’s resident heavy, Dragline (George Kennedy – winner of the Best Supporting Actor Oscar for this role), who ends up admiring the new guy’s unbreakable will. Luke’s bravado, even in the face of repeated stints in the prison’s dreaded solitary confinement cell, “The Box”, make him a rebel hero to his fellow convicts and a thorn in the side of the prison officers. ‘Cool Hand Luke’ is eminently rewatchable, due in equal parts to its visual beauty on the screen, the stellar script, and one of Paul Newman’s most indelible performances - his piercing blue eyes and easy smile definitely help as well.
USA 1967 STUART ROSENBERG 127M
Tue 18 Aug 20:15 - Auditorium
In the most recently made film offered in the Festival’s Prisons strand, we present this brutal and hard-hitting drama that was deservedly nominated in the Outstanding British Film category at the 2026 BAFTA Awards.
Taylor (David Jonsson) is a timid drug addict in an overcrowded British prison, branded a “wasteman” by society, his family and in prison. He is excited at the prospect of parole in a fortnight; relishing the thought of seeing his teenage son. But as the day of freedom draws near, he is given a new cellmate, Dee (Tom Blyth), a violent, toxically charismatic alpha-dog who wants to take over the prison’s drug sales. Very quickly, Dee has Taylor ‘working’ for him, enraging the prison’s existing top dogs, Paul (Alex Hassell) and Gaz (Corin Silva). This prison picture features a terrific pair of lead performances by Jonsson and Blyth. It is exceptionally gritty and claustrophobic; its tight shots give us nowhere to escape to when the inevitable violence ensues.
UK 2026 CAL MCMAU 94M
Fri 21 Aug 18:00 - Lumiere
Based on harrowing true events, this film delves into stories of crime, revenge, love and friendship at the Carandiru Penitentiary, the largest prison in Latin America.
Prisons don’t come much meaner than the São Paulo Carandiru Penitentiary, a decrepit cell block overcrowded with Brazil’s most violent criminals. A tinderbox just waiting for a spark to ignite it, which is exactly what happened one fateful day in 1992 when riot police stormed the building. Through the eyes of Doctor Varella (Luiz Carlos Vasconcelos), we see a series of flashbacks of the individual backstories of the inmates, exploring how they turned to crime and how they coped with life in the overcrowded, volatile facility. All this leading to a fateful day in October 1992 when the military police storm the penitentiary. It is the ability to humanise its central characters - to make you care about the murderers, thieves and junkies who are Carandiru’s citizens, and its doomed heroes - that gives the film its wrenching, tragic power. Filmed on location in the actual penitentiary. (Subtitles)
BRAZIL 2003 HECTOR BABENCO 145M
The box office is located inside the cinema via the side entrance of the building. If you have purchased your tickets online, you will receive an email confirmation on your phone. You do not need to show the confirmation of your tickets at the box office. You can go straight through to the bar area and you will need to present your tickets or booking confirmation to the ushers before you go through to see the film. Please make sure you have your tickets or confirmation ready to avoid causing long queues.
Please note that the box office staff will be happy to help with any enquiries. Box office hours between 12-23 August are 10:30-20:30 and 12:30-20:30 outside of those dates. Please leave plenty of time for advance bookings if coming to the box office. The half hour before each film is particularly busy and patrons paying for that film will be given priority; we thank you for your understanding.
We very rarely play ads and trailers during the Festival. All Festival films talks and events will start at the advertised time. Please arrive early to ensure you are seated on time and to avoid disrupting the enjoyment of others.
The bar is run by the New Park Sports and Social Club (not the Cinema) and it is open before each film. Its helpful bar staff, all of whom are volunteers, offer a wide range of both hot and cold drinks and snacks during the Festival at very competitive prices.
Train: Alight at Chichester Train Station, walk north along South Street to Chichester Cross, then turn onto East Street. Turn left at Slim Chickens and through the car park and we’re straight ahead of you.
Bus: 700 bus to Chichester, alighting at the corner of Market Avenue and East Street; or the 55 bus along New Park Road.
Wheelchair users are very welcome, but it is essential to book in advance. Wheelchair access to the building can be found at the entrance on the far right as you face the building from the car park, opposite the circular New Park Centre offices. A wheelchair-accessible toilet is positioned on the right as you enter the auditorium from the bar area. This is an all-gender toilet.
Hearing impaired:
There are two wheelchair spaces in the Auditorium and there is one in the Lumiere as well as a wheelchair ramp. There are no toilet facilities in the Lumiere.
The auditorium is fitted with an induction loop and looped hearing devices for amplified sound are available for free at the box office, to be returned after each film. The Box Office is also fitted with looped microphones.
Sight impaired:
Guide dogs are welcome in the Chichester Cinema and Lumiere but must be booked in advance and be seated in designated areas.
pg53
A CELEBRATION OF LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA
Deborah Shaw, Professor of Film and Screen Studies at the University of Portsmouth, presents a talk exploring the glories of 21st century Latin American cinema, including a wealth of stunning film clips.
Thu 13 Aug 12:00 – Lumiere
pg65
PRISON FILMS: FANTASIES OF FEAR, AUTHORITY AND ESCAPE
A talk by Professor Emeritus of Cultural History Maggie Andrews, looking back at the prison movie genre, and illustrated by a range of captivating film clips.
Sat 15 Aug 13:00 – Lumiere
pg42
REDFORD: THE SUNDANCE KID BEHIND AND IN FRONT OF THE CAMERA
Sandy Guthrie of the Cinema Education Team presents a talk looking back at the illustrious career of a giant of American cinema.
Mon 17 Aug 13:45 – Lumiere
pg62
SIFTING THROUGH THE ASHES: THE CINEMA OF ANDRZEJ WAJDA
To mark the centenary of his birth and ten years after his death, this talk will look back at the astonishing career of the Polish auteur. Presented by longstanding Sight & Sound contributor Michael Brooke.
Tue 18 Aug 13:00 – Lumiere
pg48
THE ART OF WOMEN IN FILM: CRAFTING THE CONTEMPORARY LANDSCAPE OF BRITISH CINEMA
Freelance researcher and writer on film Jade Evans will explore the current Golden Age for British women film directors, led by Lynne Ramsay and Andrea Arnold.
Fri 21 Aug 13:30 – Lumiere
Fri 7 Aug
Priory Park
19:45 STAR WARS: A NEW HOPE (12A) 121M 6
Sat 8 Aug
Priory Park
17:00 BABE (PG) 91M 7 20:00 PRETTY WOMAN (15) 119M 7
Sun 9 Aug
Priory Park
16:30 JURASSIC PARK (12A) 127M 8 20:00 SONG SUNG BLUE (PG) 132M 8
Wed 12 Aug
Main Auditorium
18:15 TONY (15) 106M (SPECIAL EVENTS)
Thu 13 Aug
Main Auditorium 10:45 THE MISFITS (PG) 125M (TRIBUTES & TREASURES) 36
13:15 TONY (15) 106M (SPECIAL EVENTS) 4
15:30 HOLY DAYS (12A) 101M (WORLD) 26
18:00 SUNNY DANCER (15) 106M (UK/USA)
20:15 LADY (15) 97M (UK/USA)
Lumiere
12:00 LATIN AMERICAN CINEMA TALK (ADV15) 100M INC Q&A (LATIN AMERICA) 53
15:00 LIFE SUPPORT (ADV15) 94M (DOCS) 28
17:30 THE MOTORCYCLE DIARIES (15) 126M (LATIN
ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (PG) 138M (UK) 41
Fri 14 Aug
Main Auditorium
11:00 ASHES AND DIAMONDS (12A) 103M (WAJDA) 61
13:15 THE CYCLE OF LOVE (12A) 98M (DOCS) 28
15:15 THE FROG AND THE WATER (ADV15) 113M (EUROPE) 21
17:45 THE PORTUGUESE HOUSE (ADV15) 114M (EUROPE) 21
20:00 THE SECRET AGENT (15) 161M (LATIN AMERICA) 54
Lumiere
11:30 MARY ANNING & THE DINOSAUR HUNTERS (ADVPG) 137M (UK) +Q&A 14
15:00 BRUNELLO: THE GRACIOUS VISIONARY (PG) 120M (DOCS) 29
18:00 SHE DANCES (ADV15) 93M (UK/USA) 14 20:15 FISH TANK (15) 123M (ARNOLD/RAMSAY) 48
Windmill Cinema 19:30 HOLY DAYS (12A) 101M (UK) 26
CineVic Arundel 19:30 COMPARSA (ADV12A) 79M (DOCS) 32
Sat 15 Aug Main Auditorium
Lumiere
Sun 16 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:45 LA GRANDE ILLUSION (U) 113M (PRISON) 66
14:00 A LATE QUARTET (15) 105M + LIVE QUARTET PERFORMANCE (SPECIAL EVENTS) 9
18:00 & SONS (15) 119M (UK) 15
20:15 SHEEP IN THE BOX (15TBC) 126M (WORLD) 27
Lumiere
11:30 MAN OF MARBLE (ADV12A) 160M (WAJDA) 61
14:30 EMBRACE OF THE SERPENT (12A) 125M (LATIN AMERICA) 55
17:15 CHICO & RITA (15) 94M (LATIN AMERICA) 55
19:30 A PROPHET (15) 155M (PRISON) 66
Windmill Cinema
18:00 COOL HAND LUKE (15) 127M (PRISON) 67
CineVic Arundel
19:30 THE BALLOONISTS (PG) 86M (DOCS) 33
Mon 17 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:45 LA FEMME INFIDÈLE (15) 98M (TRIBUTES & TREASURES) 37
12:45 THE PORTUGUESE HOUSE (ADV15) 114M (EUROPE) 21
15:00 LA PISCINE (Adv15) 122M (TRIBUTES & TREASURES) 38
17:45 SANTIAGO: THE CAMINO THERAPY (ADV15) 113M (EUROPE) 22 20:00 THE MONEY MAKER (ADV15) 128M (EUROPE) 23
Lumiere
11:00 THE OLD MAN AND THE GUN (PG) 93M (REDFORD) 41
13:45 ROBERT REDFORD TALK (REDFORD) 42
16:00 AMERICAN DOCTOR (ADV15) 91M (DOCS) 30
18:15 RATCATCHER (15) 94M (ARNOLD/RAMSAY) 47
20:15 VIVE LE PUNK (ADV15) 95M (DOCS) 31
Windmill Cinema
19:30 MARY ANNING & THE DINOSAUR HUNTERS (ADVPG) 137M (UK) 14
Tue 18 Aug
Main Auditorium
11:30 PRISONERS OF PARADISE (ADV15) 108M (UK/USA) 16
13:30 I’M STILL HERE (PG) 137M (LATIN AMERICA) 56
17:45 THE PASSION OF JOAN OF ARC WITH LIVE MUSICAL ACCOMPANIMENT (PG) 114M 10
20:15 WASTEMAN (15) 90M (PRISON) 68
Lumiere
10:30 JEREMIAH JOHNSON (PG) 108M (REDFORD) 43
13:00 ANDRZEJ WAJDA TALK (ADV12A) 100M INC Q&A (WAJDA) 62
15:00 WUTHERING HEIGHTS (15) 129M (ARNOLD/RAMSAY) 49
17:30 THE YELLOW TIE (ADV15) 145m (EUROPE) 22
20:30 ABOUT MY MOM (ADV15) 94M (WORLD) 27
CineVic Arundel
19:30 OUR LAND (PG) 90M (DOCS) 33
Wed 19 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:30 THE WAY WE WERE (PG) 118M (REDFORD) 43
12:45 THE YELLOW TIE (ADV15) 145m (EUROPE) 22 15:45 THE ARRANGEMENT (ADV15) 103M (EUROPE) 24 18:00 QUEEN AT SEA (ADV15) 121M (UK/USA) 18 20:30 CITY OF GOD - 35MM SCREENING (18) 130M (LATIN AMERICA) 56
Lumiere
11:15 GERMAINE ACOGNY: ESSENCE OF DANCE (ADVPG) 88M (DOCS) 30
13:15 BERLIN HERO (ADV15) 112M (EUROPE) 23 15:30 ORDINARY BATTLES (ADV15) (UK/USA) 90M 17 17:45 PRISONERS OF PARADISE (ADV15) 108M (UK/USA) 16 20:15 FILM TBA Picturedrome 20:00 COLD WAR (15) 121M (WAJDA) 24 Windmill Cinema 19:30 MANHATTAN (12A) 95M (TRIBUTES & TREASURES) 38 Thu 20 Aug
Main Auditorium 10:45 LE BOUCHER (15) 93M (TRIBUTES & TREASURES) 37
12:45 THE EDUCATION OF JANE CUMMING (ADV15) 114M (UK/USA) 17
15:00 QUEEN AT SEA (ADV15) 121M (UK) 18 19:00 A CENTENARY CELEBRATION OF MILES DAVIS - Jazz Doc & Gig (15) 240M (SPECIAL EVENTS) 11
Be sure to check the Festival Website, and join the Email List, to get all the up-to-date Festival News, Amends and Additions.
Lumiere
10:30 BRUBAKER (15) 131M (REDFORD) 44
13:00 THE SUMMER BOOK (PG) 90M (USA) 18 14:45 AMERICAN HONEY (15) 162M (ARNOLD/RAMSAY) 49
18:00 A FANTASTIC WOMAN (15) 114M (LATIN AMERICA) 57
20:15 SHORTS PROGRAMME (ADV15) 100M (SPECIAL EVENTS) 12
Windmill Cinema
19:30 THE EDUCATION OF JANE CUMMING (ADV15) 114M (UK/USA) 17
CineVic Arundel
19:30 CHASING UTOPIA (ADV12A) 83M (DOCS) 33
Fri 21 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:45 AND GOD CREATED WOMAN (PG) 90M (TRIBUTES & TREASURES) 39
13:30 DON’T FORGET ME (PG) 95M (DOCS) 30
15:30
THE
Lumiere
(15)
10:30 AFTERIMAGE (12A) 98M (WAJDA) 62
13:30 THE ART OF WOMEN IN FILM TALK (ADV15) 100M INC Q&A (ARNOLD/RAMSAY) 48
16:00 BETTER GO MAD IN THE WILD (ADV 15) 84M (DOCS) 35 18:00 CARANDIRU (15) 145M (PRISONS) 68
20:45 WE NEED TO TALK ABOUT KEVIN (15) 112M (ARNOLD/RAMSAY) 47
Windmill Cinema
19:30 QUEEN AT SEA (ADV15) 121M (UK) 18
Sat 22 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:30 THE TRUTH (15) 127M (TRIBUTES & TREASURES) 39
13:00 AMR: DYING TO CHANGE THE WORLD (ADV12A) 70m (DOCS) + Q&A (TBC) 34
15:45 SANTIAGO: THE CAMINO THERAPY (ADV15) 113M (EUROPE) 22
18:00 EVERYBODY DIGS BILL EVANS (15) 102M (UK/USA) 19 20:15 FILM TBA
Lumiere
10:45 MOMO (ADVPG) 91M (EUROPE)
13:15 KATYN (15) 121M (WAJDA)
15:30 JUST AN ILLUSION (ADV15) 119M (EUROPE) 25 18:15 WILD TALES (15) 122M (LATIN AMERICAN) 57
20:30 SICILIAN LETTERS (15) 122M (EUROPE) 23
Windmill Cinema
19:30 THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD (ADV15) 122M (UK/USA) 19
Sun 23 Aug
Main Auditorium 10:45 DON’T FORGET ME (PG) 95M (DOCS) 30 13:00 FILM TBA 15:45 BITTER CHRISTMAS (15) 111M (EUROPE) 5 18:15 FILM TBA 18:15 BITTER CHRISTMAS - CLOSING GALA (15) 111M (EUROPE) 5
Lumiere 11:00 ORDINARY PEOPLE (REDFORD) 117M 44 13:30 THE STORKS OF CHERNOBYL (ADV15) 65M (DOCS) 35 15:15 LIUDMYLA’S STORY (ADV12A) 30M + CHOIR & Q&A 35
17:45 FILM TBA 20:15 DIE MY LOVE (15) 119M (ARNOLD/RAMSAY) 47
Windmill Cinema
18:15 THE DEATH OF ROBIN HOOD (ADV15) 122M (UK/USA) 19
Picturedrome 20:00 KANAL (15) 96M (WAJDA) 63
DAVIS CENTENARY
Be sure to check the Festival Website, and join the Email List, to get all the up-to-date Festival News, Amends and Additions.
Booking in advance is strongly recommended during the Film Festival, as many screenings sell out. All tickets can be booked either online, in person, by telephone, email or through the post. A booking fee of 50p per ticket will be charged for all phone and internet bookings, unless you are a Member of the Cinema, when there is no fee for internet bookings Payments can be made by cash, major credit/debit cards or cheque (payable to Chichester Cinema at New Park). For postal bookings, please send a list of your bookings and payment to Chichester Cinema at New Park, New Park Road, Chichester, PO19 7XY with the film name, date, time and quantity along with a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you would like your tickets mailed to you. Or if you prefer, just come in and see us to book your tickets.
TICKET PRICES
£11.50 Auditorium & Lumiere Screenings
£8.00 Talks
Special Events as individually priced
£5.00 Special Walk-Up price for the Under-25s within 24 hours of the screening
SPECIAL FESTIVAL PACKAGE
Buy 10 films and get 2 of them for free* (This offer excludes the Special Events, Special Preview and Closing Gala. Once 10 films are booked, the lowest price ones will then be deducted.)
TICKET
Please note that we cannot refund or credit your account during the Film Festival, However we can still exchange your ticket for another film during this period. Please mention any offer before booking.
Please note that aside from the SPECIAL FESTIVAL PACKAGE, the Epic Membership free allocation of tickets, and the Walk-Up rate, there are no other discounts available during the Film Festival unless otherwise stated because the Festival is extremely costly to put on and Chichester Cinema is a registered charity.
THE FESTIVAL TEAM
Festival Director & Cinema Programmer: Walter Francisco
Executive Director: Anne-Marie Flynn
Artistic Consultant & President: Roger Gibson
Retrospectives Curator: Patrick Hargood
Membership & Community Outreach: Dr Abi Exelby
Head of Technical Operations: Mark Hoare
Head of Box Office: Ninian McGuffie
Volunteer Coordinator & Box Office Assistant: Eleanor Witcomb
Box Office Assistants and Projectionists: Paul Gainford, Ollie Hickey and Cameron Sherwell
Box Office Assistant: Dora Romo Castillejo
35mm Projectionist: Andrew Bradley
Hospitality & Guest Relations: Carol Godsmark
Accountant: Eva Busquier Zarzosa
Proofreader: Janie Foote
Gala Catering: Brasserie Blanc
Public Relations: Brightword
Board of Trustees: Chair Debbie Ford, Deputy Chair Roger Harrison, Treasurer Michael Schurch, Company Secretary Nicola Gaffney, Trustees Anne-Marie Flynn, Emma Lochhead, Patrick Hargood, Lynton Morgan, Walter Francisco
Education: Patrick Harwood, Maggie Andrews, Brian Baker, Michael Cox, David Coxon, Rosemary Coxon, Abi Exelby, Matt Goddard, Carol Godsmark, Sandy Guthrie, John Harte, Mike Jennings, Nick Johnston-Jones, Lynn Keltie, Carrie Pithie, Theo Rogier, Cameron Sherwell, Andrew Vance, Stavroula Varella-Barker
BOX OFFICE HOURS During the Film Festival: 10:30 to 20:30, and 12:30pm to 20:30pm outside of the festival. Please note that during the busy half hour sales period before each screening, we may not be able to deal with advance bookings, and we thank you in advance for your understanding.
The cinema gratefully acknowledges the generous
Walter Francisco Festival Director
Anne-Marie Flynn Executive Director
Debbie Ford Chair of the Cinema
Roger Harrison Deputy Chair of the Cinema
Roger Gibson Cinema President, Festival and Cinema Founder and Event Cinema Consultant
Registered Charity No. 1099780
Members Priority booking from Wed 22nd July 2026. General Public bookings from Saturday 25th July 2026.
Major credit and debit cards accepted. Subject to 50p per ticket charge (as telephone booking). Become a Member: book online, no booking fee to pay!
