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
It is with immense pride and gratitude that I welcome you to the 33rd Chichester International Film Festival – a celebration of cinema that continues to evolve while remaining firmly rooted in the passion and curiosity that have defined it for over three decades.
At the heart of our mission remains a desire to bring exceptional storytelling to audiences across Chichester and beyond. We’re delighted to return to some of our favourite partner venues, while also introducing new ones to the fold (see pg10). You will no doubt notice when flicking through this programme, that nearly half of the films will be screened at the Lumiere - an exciting mobile cinema auditorium that seats 80 and will be situated in the New Park Centre car park. It is kitted out to the most up-to-date projection specifications, meaning anyone seeing a film here will surely be impressed. Look out for the two open sessions to visit the Lumiere on 13 and 14 August. We thank the team at the Windmill Cinema, Littlehampton for their help in making this happen.
The 2025 programme brims with premieres, visiting filmmakers, a world-spanning array of cinematic voices, plus some unmissable special events. Our annual jazz film and gig this year promises to be the best one ever, this year focusing on Quincy Jones and featuring some of the country’s best jazz musicians. Alongside our contemporary selections, we shine a spotlight on six distinctive strands, each reflecting our enthusiasm for film that
challenges and delights. ‘Kate Winslet: No Role Too Deep’ offers a rare chance to explore the extraordinary range of this much-loved actor. We celebrate her fearless choices and transformative performances - and yes –she’s a local hero too.
In ‘Jack Lemmon: Sweet & Sour’, we pay tribute to a master of comic timing and bittersweet charm. Whether stealing scenes or capturing vulnerability, Lemmon’s legacy lies in his ability to reflect the absurdities and tenderness of the human experience with disarming ease. Our David Lynch retrospective plunges into the surreal and enigmatic world of one of cinema’s true visionaries. Whether you’re a seasoned Lynchian or a curious newcomer, expect to be transported into dream logic and psychological labyrinths. The Jane Austen strand revisits and reimagines the stories of one of Britain’s greatest writers. Let’s explore her timeless wit and enduring fascination with love and class.
We are also thrilled to present ‘India Beyond Bollywood’, a powerful showcase of subcontinental storytelling that ventures far from the musical blockbusters many might expect. Local Indian restaurant Jungle Junction partners us on this strand and is offering a very generous 20% discount to all Festival attendees (see pg45). And finally, ‘Country Folk’ celebrates the genre of Country Music Cinema – a diverse selection of films exploring the grit and poetry of country life. This strand resonates with stories as raw as they are melodic and provides the very first film of the Festival with ‘Walk the Line’ as an open air screening. Look out for the other four films under the stars over the weekend of 8-10 August.
As ever, none of this would be possible without our devoted team, generous patrons, sponsors, partner venues, film suppliers, and you – our audience. Thank you for being part of this continuing journey. Let’s celebrate great film together.
See you at the Cinema
Walter Francisco, Festival Director July 2025
Wed 13 Aug 18:30 – Auditorium
Party from 18:00 / Film from 20:00
Tickets £35
Film Only Screening
Thu 14 Aug 18:00 – Auditorium
Film Only – Tickets £11
We are delighted to present this Special Preview as the first film of the Festival. In Celine Song’s follow up to ‘Past Lives’, a young, ambitious New York City matchmaker finds herself torn between the perfect match and her imperfect ex.
Lucy (Dakota Johnson) is a professional matchmaker torn between former love John (Chris Evans) and dazzling new possibility Henry (Pedro Pascal). Lucy is very good at her job, as we see when she cajoles a reluctant bride on her wedding day to go through with the marriage. At that wedding Lucy meets the groom’s rich, handsome brother Henry, and is served a drink by John, the ex she broke up with after five years, who is still a struggling actor working the wedding as a waiter. Should she choose her poor ex over her wealthy new suitor? Johnson, Evans and Pascal make for a starry love triangle in this rom-com… but dismiss it as typical rom-com fare at your peril. ‘Materialists’ is something far more original and captivating: a piercingly honest exploration of love and money and the inevitable connection between the two.
USA 2025 CELINE SONG 116M
Step into the culinary delights of the Festival's new Special Preview Supper Party at Brasserie Blanc. Indulge in substantial canapés and plentiful, mouth-watering platters. Immerse yourself in the vibrant festival atmosphere as you mingle with fellow festival lovers and get ready to kick off the evening in style.
Party: 18:00 / Film: 20:00 / £35.00
Sun 24 Aug 18:30 – Auditorium
Dinner from 18:30 / Film from 20:30
Tickets £39
English Premiere
Film Only Screening
Sun 24 Aug 15:45 – Auditorium
Film Only – Tickets £11
In this soul-searching neo-noir mystery, a washed-up tennis pro at a hotel resort finds a personal escape when he crosses paths with an unusual and sophisticated family.
Tom (Sam Riley – ‘Control’), a one-time tennis pro, now hits countless balls over the net to tourists who come to escape their everyday lives at Fuerteventura, the largest of the Canary Islands. Living an endless, directionless summer, Tom fills the emptiness inside with booze and brief affairs. He is still kidding himself that he is in paradise, but it is beginning to dawn on him that he has wound up in hell. The appearance of a woman from his past (Stacy Martin – ‘The Brutalist’) and the subsequent disappearance of her husband (Jack Farthing – ‘Poldark’) force the beach-bum tennis coach to confront the mystery of what he is hiding from. With its unconventional narrative arc, this is a smart and subtle thriller with a real sting in its tale, exploring themes of escape, longing and the complexities of human relationships. The three leads are all very impressive, as is the ultra-wide Cinemascope aspect ratio which really does justice to the beautiful Atlantic locations. (Some subtitles)
GERMANY 2025 JAN-OLE GERSTER 123M
Elevate your closing night experience to a new level with a lovely 3-course delicious dinner and a glass of wine at Brasserie Blanc! Raise a glass to toast the end of another incredible celebration of world cinema in culinary style. The perfect way to savour the moment and create lasting memories with friends and fellow film enthusiasts.
Dinner 18:00 / Film 20:30 / £39.00
Premieres, Previews & New
Thu 14 Aug 13:30 – Auditorium Sun 17 Aug 18:00 – Auditorium PLUS Q&A
A beautiful, heart-warming – and often funny - story that seeks to explore the fragile interplay between grief, human connection and the redemptive power of kindness.
Anne (Sarah-Jane Potts) is grieving the loss of her partner to the point of becoming mute. She takes herself to the Canary Islands to spread his ashes and, just maybe, get her voice back, along with her place in this world. After an unwelcoming arrival, she finds herself wandering the streets. A chance encounter with another troubled traveller, Bill (David Ganly), offers an unexpected solution, which could heal or crumble each of their lives. Potts is a magnet on the screen, bringing more life and meaning to her silent character than most others do with pages of dialogue. She anchors the film with a blend of vulnerability and resolve, portraying Anne as both fragile and fiercely determined to reclaim her life. It is hard to believe that this is the work of a first-time director (Millson is better known as an actor), achieving here a wonderful film with echoes of ‘Aftersun’ and ’45 Years’. Winner of Best Feature Film at the 2025 London Independent Film Festival and Berlin Indie Film Festival. “This is a magical film. It’s got heart, soul and hope. And it’s laced with jeopardy.” Irvine Welsh.
UK 2025 JOSEPH MILLSON 88M
We are delighted to welcome director Joseph Millson for a Q&A following the Sunday screening.
Mon 18 Aug 15:30 – Auditorium
In this taut, psychological thriller, a Swedish TV presenter’s well-ordered life unravels when she finally confronts her domineering husband about an accusation against him.
Maria (Mirja Turestedt) is caught in the middle of a media maelstrom after her successful academic husband Magnus (Thomas W Gabrielsson) has been accused of rape. He denies it, but in a flippant way that makes his guilt plain. When Maria finally snaps, her journey takes an unexpected turn, finding herself in the wilds of Exmoor. This Nordic noir plays out against the arresting backdrops of Sweden and Southwest England, adding extra atmosphere to an already mysterious film. (Some subtitles)
UK/SWEDEN 2023 CAROLINE INGVARSSON 93M
Fri 15 Aug 18:00 – Auditorium Mon 18 Aug 13:15 – Auditorium
Fri 22 Aug 19:30 - Windmill Cinema
Heralded as the breakout film at the 2025 Sundance Film Festival, this is a fragile comedydrama about the enduring nature of trauma and the healing power of friendship.
Agnes (Eva Victor) is an English professor at a college in rural New England. She is thrilled when her newly married best friend Lydie (Naomi Ackie), recently moved to New York, arrives for a visit. Lydie very quickly notices Agnes’ anxiety, most likely stemming from a past fateful sexual encounter with her admiring advisor Preston (Louis Cancelmi). Victor makes very funny, acerbic observations about society’s discomfort in showing empathy towards women who are dealing with personal suffering. ‘Sorry, Baby’ is a film about trauma but it is also an insightful exploration of friendship. With a razor-sharp script, this smartly structured and well-acted little gem, with a star-making turn from director Victor herself, is a black comedy that is not only nimble but consistently funny. This is a multi-talented filmmaker to keep your eye on. Lucas Hedges (‘Manchester by the Sea’) co-stars.
USA/SPAIN/FRANCE 2025 EVA VICTOR 103M
Thu 21 Aug 16:45 – Lumiere PLUS Q&A
This is the first-ever film adaptation of ‘The First Man’ - an early and rare story from the pen of Nobel laureate and Pulitzer Prize winner, Eugene O’Neill.
World renowned anthropologist Curtis (Vincent Andriano) finds solace after a family tragedy by immersing himself in preparations for his upcoming expedition to Mongolia, where he aims to unravel the mystery of “The First Man”. However, he must first confront an undercurrent of suspicions that his wife Martha (Charlotte Asprey) is carrying his best friend Bigelow’s (Alan Turkington) child. 100 years after it was first published, here is a chance to see this psychological romance on the big screen. UK 2024 HARDEEP GIANI 140M
We are delighted to welcome director Hardeep Giani for a Q&A following the film.
Sun 17 Aug 20:30 – Auditorium Mon 18 Aug 19:30 – Windmill Cinema
Winner of the Audience Award at Toronto, this life-affirming, genre-bending story is based on Stephen King’s novella about three chapters in the life of an ordinary man named Charles Krantz.
We begin at the end – specifically, at the end of the world. Two ex-spouses, Marty (Chiwetel Ejiofor) and Felicia (Karen Gillan), reunite to watch the Earth crumble, and the stars blink out of existence – but why are there posters everywhere celebrating the mild-mannered Charles “Chuck” Krantz (played by Tom Hiddleston as an adult and Jacob Tremblay as a boy)? Flashbacks unravel the mystery, but the less you know about the film the better. This being a Stephen King adaptation, it has some supernatural elements, but it is not a horror movie, not at all. It is more a meditation on the big questions that we do not have answers to - and whether it would matter if we did. Look out for one scene where you will not believe how well Hiddleston can dance, in what may be the best dance sequence of any film this year.
USA 2025 MIKE FLANAGAN 111M
Thu 21 Aug 20:15 – Lumiere PLUS Q&A
DRACULA THE MESSIAH - PART THREE
Following the original Bram Stoker novel very closely, this is part three of ‘The Four Gospels of Dracula the Messiah’, covering the part of the story from when Dracula arrives in England to the death and burial of Lucy Westenra.
This dramatic and moving chapter can be viewed as a stand-alone film. It shows Dracula’s (Philip Blair) effect upon Lucy Westenra (Olga Brook), her mother Mrs Westenra (Rudi Davies) and her friend Mina Harker (Charlotte Rogers). We also meet Dracula’s apostle, the lunatic Renfield (Kevin McMonagle) and Dr. Van Helsing (Mick Ford). The development of the religious and philosophical ideas in the film, as well as its genuine descent into the underworld of lust and living death, make this film one of the most fulfilling, serious and thoughtful of all Dracula films.
UK 2020 GREGORY MOTTON 84M
We are delighted to welcome director Gregory Motton for a Q&A following the film.
Wed 20 Aug 16:00 – Auditorium Sat 23 Aug 18:00 – Auditorium
An unconventional romantic comedy in which a young American in Paris meets a French girl with a morbid curiosity about the darker sides of the city’s history.
Paul (Jeremie Galiana) and Paulette’s (Marie Benati) chance encounter on a Parisian boulevard sparks an unusual friendship that grows around a dark game; reenacting scenes of notorious crimes from bygone eras at the sites they occurred. As their morbid road trip approaches the more recent past it becomes more uncomfortable, blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, but finding a surprising joy in the darker corners of humanity. British- French writer/director Jethro Massey uses the unique premise as a springboard to examine the impermanence of everything - even an infatuation between two people who seem destined for one another. Including a great soundtrack, this quirky film which won the Critics’ Week Audience Award and Cinema & Arts Award at the Venice Film Festival 2024, could just be a cult film in the making. (Some subtitles)
UK 2024 JETHRO MASSEY 109M
We pride ourselves on making the Festival accessible to as many people as possible, using Chichester’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 pg42.
chichestercinema.org
St John’s Street, Chichester, West Sussex, PO19 1UR
This beautiful Georgian proprietary chapel will play host to the silent Classic ‘Sunrise’, accompanied by Stephen Horne and Elizabeth-Jane Baldry. See pg67.
Access: The chapel is fully accessible via a ramp at the main entrance
stjohnschapelchichester.co.uk
Windmill Rd, Littlehampton BN17 5LH
Following our successful partnership last year, this much loved local cinema will again play host to seven Festival films.
Access: 4 wheelchair spaces which can be booked in person and online. The wheelchair spaces at both ends of the front row on a flat floor. Access flat throughout. Disabled toilet. Induction loop in auditorium.
windmillcinema.co.uk
Our new state-of-the-art, 80-seat pop-up cinema comes complete with air-conditioning, plush seating & superb sound and projection! Space for one wheelchair and both stepped and ramped access. The Lumiere is situated on site. Please follow access routes from the Centre bar. Who knew a repurposed military vehicle could be so much fun?!
NB We are losing a few parking spaces to accommodate The Lumiere. Please ensure you leave enough time for parking and make use of all nearby car parks during the Festival. Thank you.
Premieres, Previews & New Releases
An unknown painter suddenly decides to quit his job and move to a small town in Normandy, hoping to be able to create a masterpiece.
Jean-Yves (Benoît Poelvoorde), a conceptual painter whose career came to an abrupt halt following a series of setbacks, decides to leave Brussels to settle in Étretat, Normandy, the ultimate embodiment of Impressionism. Here he is seeking inspiration to create his major work that, once presented to the world, will finally earn him eternal glory and recognition. The problem is, he has no idea what he wants to paint... Between Bagnoule (Gustave Kervern), a figurative painter and bon vivant, and the ‘charming’ Cécile de Mauprès (Camille Cottin), gallery owner and manipulator, his meeting with the locals will prove decisive for the fulfilment of his plan. A funny film that includes some wonderful locations and will most likely make you want to pick up a paintbrush. (Subtitles)
Thu 14 Aug 15:30 – Auditorium
BELGIUM/FRANCE 2024 STEFAN LIBERSKI 90M
Thu 14 Aug 20:15 – Auditorium
Preview - France
L’HISTOIRE DE SOULEYMANE
A Paris food delivery cyclist and asylum seeker named Souleymane has two days to prepare his story for a make-or-break interview to secure legal residency. This propulsive, suspenseful, visceral and yet moving depiction of the immigrant experience is seen through several significant days in the life of Souleymane (Abou Sangare), as he prepares for the interview with OFPRA (French Office for the Protection of Refugees) that will determine his future. He must not only deal with those who profit from the refugee situation such as asylum interview ‘coaches’ and food delivery permit ‘sharks’, he must also decide on whether the truth or a fabricated version of his story will suit his situation best, and this creates a more empathetic understanding of Souleymane’s plight. The kinetic hand-held camera energetically tracks Souleymane through the streets of Paris, building nail-biting tension. The film has been rightfully rewarded with prizes at many European Film Festivals, but the fact that it has yet to find a distributor in the UK makes it one not to miss. You may not get another chance. Non-professional actor Abou Sangare as Souleymane is a true revelation and a name to look out for in the next few years. (Subtitles) FRANCE 2024 BORIS LOJKINE 93M
Fri 15 Aug 15:30 – Auditorium Sat 16 Aug 20:30 – Auditorium
Thu 21 Aug 19:30 –
Preview - Italy
Based on Margot Wölk’s extraordinary real-life account, this film sees a group of women risk their lives as Hitler’s ‘food tasters’.
Rosa Sauer (Elisa Schlott) flees her bombed-out Berlin apartment, moves in with her in-laws, all while her husband, a German soldier, is fighting in Ukraine. Not too far away in a forest surrounded by barbed wire is the “Wolf’s Lair” - the Eastern Front military headquarters of Adolf Hitler. Rosa lands among a group of war-weary young women, long deprived of sufficient food, who are forcibly recruited by the SS. They are driven every day to Hitler’s complex to serve as his food tasters, dining on abundant vegetarian delicacies three times a day. The only price: risking their lives with each bite as they are tasked with making sure that the food intended for Adolf Hitler has not been poisoned. The extraordinary account by then 95-year-old Margot Wölk created a sensation when it first appeared in a Berlin tabloid more than a decade ago. Her decision to break decades of silence about her wartime experiences captured the imagination of German reporters, then global media, finally inspiring a documentary, two novels and a play. You may remember the director from his wonderful 2000 film ‘Bread and Tulips’. (Subtitles)
ITALY/BELGIUM/SWITZERLAND 2025 SILVIO SOLDINI 123M
Fri 15 Aug 20:15 – Auditorium Sat 16 Aug 12:45 – Auditorium
14-year-old Elias develops feelings for his new neighbour Alexander, and soon realises he is falling in love for the first time. When a new family moves in across the road, Elias (Lou Goosens) feels attracted to his new neighbour Alexander (Marius de Saeger), with the interactions with friends and family only bringing more questions than answers. Confused by his burgeoning feelings, Elias tries to sort out his inner chaos to prove that he is worth Alexander’s heart. Writer-director Anthony Schatteman’s assured debut boasts a standout lead performance from Goossens (watch out for this young actor in the future) and proves that to tell a heart-warming story of falling in love, you do not need to sexualise the characters. One of the most moving films of this year’s Festival. This is a must-watch for any parent or family member hoping to understand the subtleties of the heart of a young teenager discovering their sexuality. Elias’ path to understanding himself and his desires will strike chords with anyone who ever struggled with self-acceptance. (Subtitles) BELGIUM 2024 ANTHONY SCHATTEMAN 99M
Sun 17 Aug 12:00 – Auditorium PLUS Q&A Mon 18 Aug 20:15 – Auditorium
UK Premiere - Germany/UK/Mexico
In 1930s Paris, rebellious British painter Leonora Carrington joins surrealists Breton and Dalí. Her romance with Max Ernst forces her to face her inner struggles. This 1930s-set film follows Carrington (Olivia Vinall) as she rebels against society’s expectations, mingles with iconic figures including André Breton (Denis Eiriey) and Salvador Dalí (Cat Jugavru) in Paris, and has a whirlwind love affair with Max Ernst (Alexander Scheer) before fleeing to Mexico during WWII. Today Leonora Carrington is one of the highest selling female painters worldwide, next to Frida Kahlo and Georgia O’Keeffe. Directed by filmmaking duo Lena Vurma and Thor Klein, the film is based on Elena Poniatowska’s best-selling book ‘Leonora’ and also stars Mercedes Bahleda as Peggy Guggenheim, Cassandra Ciangherotti as Remedios Varo and Ryan Gage as Edward James. (Some Subtitles)
GERMANY/MEXICO/UK 2025 THOR KLEIN & LENA VURMA 103M
We are delighted to welcome directors Thor Klein and Lena Vurma, plus some cast members, for a Q&A following the Sunday screening.
Sat 16 Aug 19:00 – Lumiere
New Release - Germany
A conductor embarking on a major orchestral project has his professional status threatened by family turmoil behind the scenes.
Tom (Lars Eidinger) is emotionally withdrawn and a member of the Lunies family. He is about to embark on the most serious project of his career, a performance of ‘Sterben’ (‘Dying’), a piece composed by a testy and depressive friend (Robert Gwisdeck) who is always butting in during rehearsals, undermining Tom and insulting the musicians. Tom’s sister Lissy (Corinna Harfouch) is quietly happy about her husband Gerd (Hans-Uwe Bauer) slowly wasting away in a home, and the other sister Ellen (Lilith Stangenberg) starts an affair with the married Sebastian (Ronald Zehrfeld). Symphonic in scale, this film is life, death and everything in between! It is also exceedingly funny, often in some of its darkest moments. This is one of the most visceral portraits of the nuclear family seen on screen. (Subtitles)
GERMANY 2024 MATTHIAS GLASNER 180M
Three magnificent films, unique stories in their own right, only connected by complementary themes and perspectives; the location, Oslo; and the heartfelt and mature storytelling technique by novelist and director Dag Johan Haugerud.
SPECIAL OFFER: See all three Oslo Trilogy films for only £27 (Save £6)
Sat 16 Aug 18:15 – Auditorium
Preview - Norway
DRØMMER
When a 17-year-old writes a memoir about her passion for her teacher, unexpected outcomes rattle three generations. Johanne’s (Ella Øverbye) intimate writings about her first love stir friction within her family, prompting her mother (Ane Dahl Torp) and grandmother (Anne Marit Jacobsen) to re-examine their own realities and dreams. Johanne falls in love with her teacher (Selome Emnetu), and to preserve her feelings, documents her emotions and experiences in writing. When her mother and grandmother read what she has written, they are initially shocked by its intimate content but soon see that it has literary potential. As they debate whether to publish it, Johanne navigates the gap between her romantic fantasy and reality. She navigates romantic ideals versus reality, exploring emotions of self-discovery, love and sexuality, all delivered with elegant style by a tightly matched central acting quartet. (Subtitles)
NORWAY 2024 DAG JOHAN HAUGERUD 110M
Tue 19 Aug 17:45 – Auditorium
Preview - Norway
KJÆRLIGHET
A pragmatic doctor explores the possibility of spontaneous intimacy, questioning societal norms, after a chance meeting with a nurse from her work. Marianne (Andrea Bræin Hovig), a doctor, and Tor (Tayo Cittadella Jacobsen), a compassionate nurse, are both avoiding conventional relationships. One evening after a blind date, Marianne encounters Tor on the ferry, who often spends his nights there seeking casual encounters with men. Intrigued by his perspective on spontaneous intimacy, Marianne begins to explore whether this could also be an option for her. Satisfying, thoughtful narrative and character play, together with engagingly candid sexual discussions and performances from the ensemble, makes this a promising prospect for admirers of mature, thoughtful relationship cinema – especially admirers of Eric Rohmer and the like. (Subtitles)
NORWAY 2024 DAG JOHAN HAUGERUD 119M
Preview - Norway
Two chimney sweeps living in monogamous, heterosexual marriages both end up in situations that challenge their views on sexuality and gender roles.
Sex certainly comes up early and often in this playful, intricately nuanced character study, but in consistently surprising, stereotype-averse ways. Feier (Jan Gunnar Røise) has a sexual encounter with another man, without himself experiencing it either as an expression of homosexual longings or infidelity. Avde (Thorbjørn Harr) suddenly experiences nocturnal dreams in which he is seen as a woman. This confuses and disturbs him and begins to wonder whether there are aspects of himself that he has suppressed. Haugerud’s sly comedy addresses various crises of modern masculinity with a light, humane touch, finding more curiosity than toxicity in its characters - and making a case for seemingly aberrant desires and impulses as an everyday fact of life. (Subtitles)
NORWAY 2024 DAG JOHAN HAUGERUD 118M Fri 22 Aug 20:30 – Auditorium
A husband-to-be flees his fiancée on their wedding day in Rangoon, 1917. His travels replace panic with melancholy, while his fiancée trails him across Asia. 1917, colonial Burma. Edward (Gonçalo Waddington), a civil servant for the British Empire, jilts his lovestruck fiancée Molly (Crista Alfaiate) the day she arrives to be married. As he escapes into an unexpected odyssey across Asia, she quickly follows suit intrigued by his moves. Rendered in stunning black-and-white period visuals interspersed with modern-day documentary footage, this is a dazzling multi-city symphony that will leave you reeling with wonder. Portuguese auteur, Miguel Gomes (‘Tabu’, ‘Arabian Nights’), earned the Best Director prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival for ‘Grand Tour’, a film that blends melodrama and comedy in a cat-and-mouse chase between lovers. (Subtitles)
PORTUGAL 2024 MIGUEL GOMES 129M
Sun 17 Aug 20:15 – Lumiere
A delivery man in Paris faces the dangers of urban nightlife while trying to support his family in Senegal. Entangled in a smuggling ring, he must make tough choices to secure their future.
Seydou (Oumar Diaw) is a migrant delivery worker in the heart of Paris. He navigates the challenges of survival and solitude, finding unexpected moments of connection that illuminate his path. His routine is a cycle of hardship, fleeting interactions and quiet resilience. Among indifferent customers and struggling workers, he forms an unexpected bond with Albert (Albert Delpy), a lonely elderly Parisian. Their friendship offers Seydou a rare connection, reshaping his perspective on belonging. This is ultimately a meditation on faith, connection and resilience in an increasingly fragmented world. Through Seydou’s journey and his bond with Albert, the film invites viewers to see beyond labels, to find strength in unlikely places, and to recognise the shared humanity that unites us all. This is an understated film about economic migration, told in a straightforward and powerful style. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 2024 STEVAN LEE MRAOVITCH 80M
Wed 20 Aug 18:15 – Auditorium Sat 23 Aug 13:45 – Auditorium
Follows the last uncertain days of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette before they were executed.
1792. Louis XVI (Guillaume Canet), his wife Marie Antoinette (Mélanie Laurent) and their children have been arrested and imprisoned in the Tour de Temple, a sinister chateau in Paris, awaiting their trial. Far from the splendour of Versailles, they are isolated and vulnerable for the first time in their lives. Drawn from the diaries of Louis XVI’s personal valet Jean-Baptiste Cléry (played by Fabrizio Rongione), the film begins in the immediate aftermath of the 1792 insurrection that saw the Tuileries Palace stormed by armed revolutionaries and the monarchy abolished. Arrested, the royal family and their entourage arrive at the Tour du Temple, a large but sparsely appointed chateau in central Paris, where they are to be confined while their fate is determined. The deposed, imprisoned monarchs are mocked by whatever finery they have held onto, looking shrunken in their dirtied robes and increasingly unkempt wigs. With empathy and stirring performances from Canet and a blistering Laurent, this is a fascinating story from which modern France was born, told with a de-frilled austerity that feels decidedly new. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 2024 GIANLUCA JODICE 101M
Wed 20 Aug 13:30 – Auditorium Wed 20 Aug 19:30 – Windmill Cinema Sat 23 Aug 18:30 – Lumiere
- France
JANE AUSTEN A GÂCHÉ MA VIE
A desperately single bookseller, lost in a fantasy world, finds herself forced to fulfil her dreams of becoming a writer so as to stop messing up her love life.
Agathe (Camille Rutherford), hopelessly clumsy yet charming, finds herself in desperate singlehood. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer, but instead she spends her days as a bookseller in Paris. Full of delight and dry wit, together with a hint of the Richard Curtis rom-com, this smart French comedy is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. Full film details in our Jane Austen strand. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 2024 LAURA PIANI 94M
Tue 19 Aug 20:30 – Auditorium
KAJ TI JE DEKLICA
A 16-year-old joins a Catholic school choir and befriends a senior. During a retreat, attractions to a restoration worker create tensions between the two and challenge their faith. Lucija (Jara Sofija Ostan) is an introvert who is prone to drifting off into daydreams. Key among these are the vividly painted lips of Ana-Marija (Mina Svajger), a confident and popular senior who, like Lucija, sings alto in their Catholic school’s all-girls choir. When the choir travels to Northern Italy, Lucija finds herself attracted to a workman renovating the convent, causing tension within her newly formed social circle. Slovenian director Urska Djukic digs deep into the fertile terrain of religion and adolescent hormones and finds something fresh in this coming-ofage drama. Premiering at the 2025 Berlin Film Festival, this feature debut launched Djukic as a new female director to watch. The title comes from the ‘Sonic Youth’ song of the same name that plays over the closing credits, and whose lyrics perfectly encapsulate the frustrations of the film’s lead character. (Subtitles)
SLOVENIA 2025 URSKA DJUKIC 89M
LA PETITE VADROUILLE
In this very funny French farce, a group of friends come up with a unique solution to their money problems: organise a fake romantic cruise for a wealthy investor, who is looking to seduce a woman.
Justine (Sandrine Kiberlain), her husband (Denis Podalydès) and their circle of friends find an easy solution to their money problems: they will organise a fake romantic cruise for Franck (Daniel Auteuil), a major investor, take advantage of his romanticism and naivety, and extract his funds. But before Justine can even suggest this plan to Franck, he proposes it first. The motley crew navigate through the French canals and locks, impersonating folk who actually know what they are doing, at the expense of the clueless and amorous Franck. French megastars Auteuil (‘La Belle Époque’) and Kiberlain (‘Mademoiselle Chambon’) shine in this playful farce set upon a slow-drifting houseboat from director Bruno Podalydès (‘The Sweet Escape), whose gift for depicting the foibles of daily life via absurd comedy is on display here once again. A perfect Sunday afternoon film. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 2024 BRUNO PODALYDÈS 96M
Thu 21 Aug 13:00 – Auditorium
Preview - Switzerland
In a society that doesn’t give a damn about people like her, a rebellious mother of three risks everything to get a piece of paradise. In a small town on the edge of wild country, ‘The Courageous’ follows the trials and tribulations of Jule, a single mother (Ophélia Kolb) trying to give her children the best life possible while battling personal demons that make being a perfect, present mother very difficult. Told through her perspective as well as those of her children, the film examines the obstacles that prevent this family from achieving a life that matches their idyllic surroundings. Crushed by her mistakes, she’ll do anything to prove to her children, and to herself, that she still is a good person. This is a poignant story about inequality and socioeconomic challenges that single parents often face, especially as they exist in a world that makes it nearly impossible to get a leg up. This story, which challenges perceptions of motherhood and morality, is a beautiful character study that tackles difficult subject matter with sensitivity and earnestness. A triumph of expression and humanity from award-winning filmmaker Jasmin Gordon and actor Ophélia Kolb. (Subtitles)
SWITZERLAND 2024 JASMIN GORDON 83M
Tue 19 Aug 20:15 – Lumiere PLUS Q&A
Ukraine
Andriy Dovzhenko demonstrates defiance to the Soviet system, but the system is trying to bring him down with forbidden punitive psychiatric practices. Will it break him?
The main protagonist Andrii Dovzhenko finds out a horrible truth that has been hidden in USSR for years - most of those accused of “anti-Soviet propaganda” were never sent to prison, but to special psychiatric hospitals with a diagnosis of “slow progressive schizophrenia”. Andrii finds himself in a real hell of punitive psychiatry and faces a difficult choice - to cooperate with the KGB and return to his family, or to reveal the truth about dissidents tortured in such psychiatric hospitals. A very revealing film about a very secretive chapter from the not-too-distant past. (Subtitles)
UKRAINE 2024 DENYS TARASOV 119M
We hope to welcome director Denys Tarasov all the way from Ukraine for a Q&A following the screening.
Wed 20 Aug 15:45 – Lumiere (film)
Dinner at 18:00 – El Matador (PO19 7LT)
Tickets £45 (Film, Flamenco & Food)
LA VIDA PADRE
A famous chef is astounded at the return of his father, coinciding with the most important moment of the kitchen and the young chef’s life.
In this delicious comedy set in the world of haute cuisine, young and ambitious chef Mikel (Enric Auquer) receives an unexpected visit from his father Juan (Karra Elejalde), who disappeared thirty years ago, and has returned with a case of acute amnesia – he can’t recall anything from the last three decades. At a critical moment for the future of his restaurant, Mikel must take charge of the crazy and unpredictable Juan, a verifiable hurricane, to get a third Michelin star for their family restaurant. The two leads have a wonderful chemistry, and you will most likely find yourself laughing and crying at various times in the film. (Subtitles)
SPAIN 2022 JOAQUÍN MAZÓN 91M
We take advantage of the screening of this food-based Spanish film, to repeat (after 2024) our delicious tie-in with local Tapas restaurant El Matador, for a very special Film, Flamenco & Food event. You won’t find a deal as good as this anywhere!
SORDA
SPAIN 2024 EVA LIBERTAD 99M Fri 22 Aug 13:30 – Auditorium
A mother’s deafness raises concerns during her pregnancy, and later, discovers a society lacking adequate infrastructure for the hearing-impaired. Living in rural Spain, where she works in a pottery studio, Angela (Miriam Garlo), who is deaf, and her hearing partner Hector (Alvaro Cervantes), are thrilled at the prospect of having their first baby. But when their daughter is born, their hearing differences drive a wedge between them as the deaf and hearing worlds diverge dramatically. Hung on a stunning performance by deaf actor Miriam Garlo, this is an achingly beautiful film, which brings to light some of the challenges of being hearing impaired. The title refers not only to Angela, but to a society that is simply not prepared for them and doesn’t really listen. (Subtitles)
Premieres, Previews & New Releases of World Cinema
Sat 16 Aug 15:00 – Auditorium
Fri 15 Aug 20:45 – Auditorium
In what is most likely the best-looking film of the Film Festival, a young indigenous Bolivian girl embarks on a rollercoaster journey to take her mother out of a life of hardship and into eternal paradise.
Santa (Fernanda Gutiérrez Aranda) embarks on a mission across barren landscapes to fulfil a promise to her mother. Along the way she encounters a shady priest, a group of wild female wrestlers and, initially, her nemesis: a gruff policeman (Fernando Arze Echalar) who arrests Santa before coming to suspect that she has miraculous powers. There is a magical realism to this film that will leave you gasping with wonder and joy, along with the odd jolt of sharp reality. Filmed across the high-altitude Altiplano and Yungas regions of Bolivia, near the capital of La Paz, we are treated to the most stunning cinematography of any film in this year’s Festival… and we are lucky to have the UK-based director Alberto Sciamma and cinematographer Alex Metcalfe with us for a Q&A during which we can ask them about their craft. (Subtitles)
UK/BOLIVIA 2025 ALBERTO SCIAMMA 107M
Plus Q&A with the director Alberto Sciamma and cinematographer Alex Metcalfe.
Under the burning sky on a roadside on the coast of Ceará, Motel Destino is the scene of dangerous games of desire, power and violence. One night, the arrival of young Heraldo definitively transforms the daily life of the place.
The neon-hued Motel Destino is a roadside sex hotel under the burning blue skies of the coast of Northern Brazil, run by the boorish Elias (Fábio Assunção) and his frustrated, beautiful wife Dayana (Nataly Rocha). When 21-year-old Heraldo (Iago Xavier) finds himself at the motel after messing up a hit and going on the run from both the police and the gang he let down, Dayana finds herself intrigued and lets him stay. As the two navigate a dance of power, desire and liberation, a dangerous plan for freedom emerges. With echoes of ‘The Postman Always Rings Twice’, this highly charged, super-erotic thriller premiered in Cannes and comes with a throbbing soundtrack and boasts terrific performances by its central trio, and radiates mood, rawness and a humid vibrant Brazilian atmosphere. (Subtitles)
BRAZIL 2024 KARIM AÏNOUZ 115M
Set against a background of majestic arid landscapes coupled with the electric colours and sounds of Tunis, this is an unmissable exploration of how far one can go to break free from their past.
Every day Aya (Fatma Sfar) takes the minibus to the international hotel in Tozeur where she works as a chambermaid, before returning home to help her parents, whose primary thought is to marry Aya off to an older divorcee. Needless to say, Aya is not happy, so when an unforeseen incident affects her, she jumps at the opportunity unexpectedly afforded to her. Aya finds herself in Tunis, with no friends or papers, and now calling herself Amira. Is this new life any better than the one she previously knew? Featuring a magnetic performance from newcomer Sfar, this is a drama-drenched film which looks great and sheds light on police and government corruption in a post-revolution Tunisia. This is the first of two amazing Tunisian films in this Film Festival (see ‘Red Path’ below), a country that is currently experiencing a golden period of filmmaking. (Subtitles)
2024
Tue 19 Aug 15:15 – Auditorium
Based on a true story. A group of militants attack two young shepherds in the remote Tunisian hills, forcing young Achraf to return home with a disturbing message. As if life for 13-year-old goat herder Achraf (Ali Helali) and his older teen cousin Nizar (Yassine Samouni) isn’t precarious enough in their rural Tunisian community, a trip up the Mghila Mountain brings the added risk of potential landmines and threats from the extremists who hide out there. Yet danger seems like a far-off possibility as the teenagers play about in mountain pools and tell stories on a sunny day. Until brutal reality arrives, and they are suddenly set upon by jihadists. Childhood is short-lived in this world, Achraf having to drop out of school because his father is not around. It is also an environment in which the threat of violence is constant while the promise of hope is scarce. Following the brutal death of his cousin, and the trauma that ensues, ‘Red Path’ brilliantly portrays the unbearable grief suffered by the family. An important, visceral, eye-opening film with great performances from all, especially the young Ali Helali. The story is based on the killing of 17-year-old Mabrouk Soltani amid the 2015 Tunisian unrest. (Subtitles)
TUNISIA 2024 LOTFI ACHOUR 97M
INDIAN CINEMA: This Festival we have a strand dedicated to an often-overlooked genre of cinema - Indian drama beyond the ever-popular Bollywood films that seem to grab most of the spotlight. We screen five films including two wonderful new rural dramas - ‘Cactus Pears’ and ‘Santosh’. Full details can be found on pg45.
Fri 15 Aug 18:30 – Lumiere
Fri 22 Aug 15:30 – Auditorium
SABAR BONDA
A sensitive and touching study of bereavement and the radical idea of being gay in a rural, lower-class Indian community. Anand, a 30-something living in Mumbai spends a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India. This is a thoughtful, lyrical ode to a disappearing way of life, full of respect for its contributions to modern, urban India. Beautifully shot with a feel of a place lost in time. (Subtitles)
INDIA 2025 ROHAN KANAWADE 112M
When a girl’s body is found in the badlands of Northern India, a newly appointed police officer is pulled into the investigation. Santosh is an emotionally bruised young woman who takes up the option of ‘compassionate appointment’, stepping into her deceased husband’s job. When a girl’s body is found, her fellow officers seem to do anything but the right thing. This terrific drama is the anti-Hollywood version of the straight-arrow cop navigating corruption. Quality filmmaking. (Subtitles)
INDIA 2024 SANDHYA SURI 128M
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Must end 6 September Sponsored by cft.org.uk
Music and Lyrics by Irving Berlin
Based on RKO’s Motion Picture
Adapted for the stage by Matthew White & Howard Jacques
A beautiful documentary that follows the dreams of a revered Buddhist abbot in the remote northern region of Laos.
An ambitious spiritual leader, Abbot Onekeo Sittivong, defied convention by establishing a new school for his country’s poor and undereducated children. But something else is happening at this school in a misty forest. The abbot and his fellow saffronrobed monks and young novices are working tirelessly to revitalise ancient Lao Theravada Buddhist practices and education almost lost to history. On the surface, this is a story of breaking the cycle of poverty and ignorance through education. The abbot, however, believes the novices’ path is about much more. We follow his dream to safeguard the traditions and wisdom of a rich culture against the encroachments of a modern world by passing this heritage on to future generations. (Subtitles)
LAOS/USA 2024 JANE CENTOFANTE 86M
We hope to welcome director Jane Centofante for a Q&A after the screening.
SERGEI PARADJANOV
The legacy and inspiration of Soviet director Sergei Paradjanov is at the centre of this new documentary from director Zara Jian. An impressive array of auteur directors are interviewed, including Atom Egoyan, Tarsem Singh and Emir Kusturica, as well as other artists such as Russian actress-in-exile Chulpan Khamatova, to discuss the work of the Georgian-born Paradjanov, who became a revolutionary force in international cinema with ‘Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors’ (1965), his first film to reject the socialist realism of officially sanctioned Soviet cinema in favour of a more experimental, poetic visual storytelling. He was imprisoned by the Soviets and his films were suppressed, including the amazing ‘The Colour of Pomegranates’ (also screening in this Festival), but his magical vision and his bold championing of folk tradition endure long after the fall of the USSR. World premiered at the Venice Film Festival in 2024, with Chichester having the honour of the UK Premiere. (Subtitles)
ARMENIA 2024 ZARA JIAN 110M
We are delighted to welcome Paradjanov expert and BBC3 journalist Tatyana Movshevich to host a Q&A after the screening with director Zara Jian. Fri 15 Aug 12:45 – Auditorium
Fri 15 Aug 10:45 – Auditorium
SAYAT NOVA
To complement our documentary on the great Soviet director Sergei Paradjanov, we present his best-known film which focuses on the life of Armenian poet Sayat-Nova: his spiritual journey, artistic endeavours and inner conflicts within the cultural and historical context of Armenia.
A breathtaking fusion of poetry, ethnography and cinema, Paradjanov’s masterwork overflows with unforgettable images and sounds. In a series of tableaux that blend the tactile with the abstract, ‘The Colour of Pomegranates’ revives the splendours of Armenian culture through the story of the 18th century troubadour Sayat-Nova. The film’s tapestry of folklore and metaphor departed from the realism that dominated the Soviet cinema of its era, leading authorities to block its distribution, with rare underground screenings presenting it in a restructured form. This edition features the cut closest to Paradjanov’s original vision, in a restoration that brings new life to one of cinema’s most enigmatic meditations on art and beauty.
USSR 1969 SERGEI PARADJANOV 79M
Fri 15 Aug 13:30 – Lumiere
UK/Belarus
A visually striking documentary about a young Orthodox nun who must confront her past as she faces her desires and an uncertain future.
A Belarusian convent is the setting for this unique, mainly black and white, UK-produced story of spiritual self-realisation. We encounter Vera amid the deep snow-covered forest, where she has taken refuge in a monastery far away from her turbulent past. Cécile Embleton and Alys Tomlinson’s powerful, beautifully crafted feature documentary debut lends Vera the space to tell her story of redemption, as she embarks on a spiritual journey of self-realisation and acceptance. This is a transfixingly beautiful film, and if you find yourself reminded of Tarkovsky’s ‘Andrei Rublev’, you will surely not be alone. (Subtitles) UK 2024 CÉCILE EMBLETON/ALYS TOMLINSON 91M
Sun 17 Aug 14:45 – Auditorium PLUS Q&A
THE LIFE AND TIMES OF ATHOL FUGARD PLUS Q&A WITH DIRECTOR TONY PALMER Tony Palmer’s film portrait of Athol Fugard which won the Gold Medal at the New York Film & TV Festival in 2013. We are delighted to welcome the director back to Chichester for a Q&A.
Athol Fugard (11 June 1932–8 March 2025) is the most performed playwright, besides Shakespeare, in the world. His contribution has been huge - almost incomparable - and in a South African context of course, the best playwright the country has produced. His work is, and remains, a shocking indictment of the apartheid regime, and much else besides, which is why the plays have always attracted the greatest of stage actors – Sir Ben Kingsley and James Earl Jones to name a couple. To celebrate Fugard’s life and work, Tony Palmer made the first-ever profile of this incredible man whose energy showed no sign of diminishing well into his 80s. Palmer plumbs the soul of Fugard through interviews with the playwright and those who knew and admired him, as well as presenting excerpts from some of his most significant plays.
UK 2012 TONY PALMER 139M
We are delighted to welcome Director Tony Palmer for a Q&A after the screening.
Wed 20 Aug 13:00 – Lumiere PLUS Q&A
PLUS Q&A
An in-depth investigation into the air you breathe on an aircraft and what the industry really knows.
This film took two people a total of 50 years of research and over ten years of filming to create. It is made not to sensationalise but to provide audiences with enough research evidence for them to learn and better understand the issues at the heart of the film. Director Tristan Loraine is a former British Airways airline captain who retrained at the British National Film and Television School and at Raindance in London in 2006.
UK 2025 TRISTAN LORAINE 106M
We are delighted to welcome Tristan Loraine for a Q&A after the screening.
Fri 22 Aug 13:15 – Lumiere PLUS Q&A
PLUS Q&A
Lobular breast cancer is the second most common type of breast cancer, yet it remains an “unmet clinical need”. This is the moving story of Dr Susan Michaelis and some of the women diagnosed with the disease who set about to change that.
The film tells the story of some remarkable women (including the Director’s wife) who set up the Lobular Moon Shot Project campaign in 2023 to get the Government to fund a £20 million five-year research project into their type of breast cancer known as lobular breast cancer, a type of breast cancer that rarely shows on a mammogram and does not have a specific disease based on its unique biology. The campaign has become the most bipartisan supported political campaign in the nation, with over 370 MPs pledging their support to the project and calling on the government to fund this vital research, more than the Post Office, blood fiasco, etc. Local MP Jess Brown-Fuller supports the project, as does every Liberal Democrat MP.
UK 2025 TRISTAN LORAINE 90M
We are delighted to welcome Tristan Loraine and a member of the Lobular Moon Shot Project for a Q&A after the screening.
Tue 19 Aug 13:00 – Auditorium Sat 23 Aug 17:00 – Windmill Cinema
English Premiere - UK/Australia
Once a year, contenders from around the globe descend on a picturesque village in the Scottish Highlands to compete for the title of World Porridge Champion. Amid intense rivalries, steaming bowls of porridge and the lives of charming locals we see a living legacy unfold. Dating back to Neolithic times, few culinary traditions have survived as long as the hearty bowl of morning porridge. Each year the sleepy highland village of Carrbridge awakens with excitement as locals and competitors from around the globe vie for the honour of winning the Golden Spurtle in the World Porridge Making Championships. This deftly constructed crowd-pleaser is a film to nourish the soul. Its considerable charm and humour come from an appetising combination of lovably eccentric characters, a sharp-eyed camera, a playful, bustling score and the glorious Scottish countryside.
UK/AUSTRALIA 2025 CONSTANTINE COSTI 75M
This is a gorgeous performance film which uncovers Geraldine Flower’s collection of love letters, suggesting a potential double life as a spy.
When Geraldine Flower died in 2019, a suitcase packed with hundreds of love letters written to her by smitten men in the 1960s and 1970s was found in her London flat. The letters inspired a 2024 album by Icelandic singer-songwriter Emilíana Torrini (called ‘Miss Flower’) and also this intriguing, gorgeous and creative film. The letters here are read by Nick Cave, Richard Ayoade and others, yet Flower maintains her elusiveness to the end. The co-directors, artists and filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard won awards and accolades for their inspired and unconventional 2014 film about Nick Cave, ‘20,000 Days on Earth’. With their new film, unshackled from the tropes of musical biography, their creative freedom is able to truly take flight, resulting in a delight for the senses that is both deeply intimate and thrillingly cinematic. A deeply moving film.
UK 2024 IAIN FORSYTH & JANE POLLARD 73M Mon 18 Aug 11:15 – Auditorium
Wed 20 Aug 18:00 – Lumiere
Amidst the profound social change and political turmoil of 1960s post-war Japan, a bold generation of avant-garde artists emerged, redefining the boundaries of art. Through underground theatre, experimental photography, surreal illustrations and the radical dance of Butoh, their groundbreaking creations not only captured the spirit of their time but also transformed the global art landscape forever. A new aesthetic of photography was born: “Are, Bure, Boke” (rough, dark and out of focus), pioneered by Moriyama Daidō and the Provoke magazine photographers. Master of underground theatre Terayama Shūji produced countless magical, surreal and vividly colourful films, plays and photobooks; Yokoo Tadanori and Awazu Kiyoshi revolutionised graphic design with their incandescent theatre posters; Tanaami Keiichi, Japan’s answer to Andy Warhol, developed his unique kaleidoscopic vision of Pop Art; and Butoh founders Hijikata Tatsumi and Ohno Kazuo impacted modern dance forever with their dance of darkness and light. (Some subtitles)
UK/JAPAN/FRANCE 2025 AMÉLIE RAVALEC 100M
23 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
LA LUNA SOTT’ACQUA
A fresco with dreamlike atmospheres in Erto, a village devastated by the 1963 Vajont Dam collapse, torn between the desire for rebirth and the need to preserve the memory of a painful past.
Filmed over 10 years in the village of Erto on the Italian Alps, which survived the tragedy defined by the United Nations as “The biggest man-made disaster in time of peace”. The Vajont Dam was the tallest in the world in 1963, and during the initial filling of the lake, a landslide caused a tsunami of water to overflow the dam in a wave of 250 metres that killed 2000 people. The dam itself remained almost completely intact. Erto was declared uninhabitable by the authorities, with 2000 inhabitants evicted. Of these, 100 returned, illegally occupying their homes, resisting and existing as a village. That was 1963. Today Erto still exists. Over the past 10 years, the director has followed the residents fighting to not be forgotten, including a disagreement over a controversial plan to install a light-based art installation on the dam wall. This is a dreamlike documentary with the magnificent Dolomites as the lead character and the strength and pride of the Erto residents in strong support. (Subtitles) ITALY 2023 ALESSANDRO NEGRINI 99M
Rt Hon. Michael Baker
Rt Hon. Michael Baker
John & Sue Coldstream
John & Sue Coldstream
Glyn & Jean Edmunds
Glyn & Jean Edmunds
Roy Heathfield
Roy Heathfield
Michael Laundon
Michael Laundon
Graham & Sybil Papworth
Graham & Sybil Papworth
Patricia Sloane
Patricia Sloane
John & Paddy Vincent-Townend
John & Paddy Vincent-Townend
John & Sue Coldstream
John & Sue Coldstream
Howard & June Coleman
Howard & June Coleman
Meryl Dean
Meryl Dean
Glyn & Jean Edmunds
Glyn & Jean Edmunds
Heather Gale
Heather Gale
Jacqueline & Jonathan Gestetner
Jacqueline & Jonathan Gestetner
Vanessa Gernat
Vanessa Gernat
Roger & Josephine Gibson
Roger & Josephine Gibson
June King
June King
Bill & Pamela Leask
Bill & Pamela Leask
Stephen & Lynda Marsh
Stephen & Lynda Marsh
Howard & Anne Morgan
Howard & Anne Morgan
Thanks also to our wonderful Cinema and Bar Volunteers for their invaluable services during the Festival and throughout the year, and to New Park Centre for its kind support.
Thanks also to our wonderful Cinema and Bar Volunteers for their invaluable services during the Festival and throughout the year, and to New Park Centre for its kind support.
Thank you to our Film Submission Judges for their time and insight.
Thank you to our Film Submission Judges for their time and insight.
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Eamon & Lynne McDonnell
Eamon & Lynne McDonnell
Deborah Mitchelson
Deborah Mitchelson
Sophie Rudge
Sophie Rudge
David Steel & Rachel Escott
David Steel & Rachel Escott
Peter Stoakley
Peter Stoakley
Ursula Watt
Ursula Watt
Jane Weeks
Jane Weeks
Bob Wilson & Pat Clough
Bob Wilson & Pat Clough
Sarah Wilson
Sarah Wilson
And to our sponsors, advertisers, sales agents and film distributors
And to our sponsors, advertisers, sales agents and film distributors
Sun 24 Aug 13:00 – Auditorium PLUS Q&A
Tickets £15
We are honoured to present a special preview screening of ‘Caravaggio’ before it’s November release. We will be joined by co-director Phil Grabsky for a Q&A after the screening. Mystery, intrigue, beauty, passion, murder – shine a new light on Caravaggio in this dramatic biography. Five years in production, this is the most extensive film ever made about one of the greatest artists of all time. Featuring masterpiece after masterpiece and with first-hand testimony from the artist himself on the eve of his mysterious disappearance. Caravaggio’s masterpieces are some of art’s most instantly recognisable. No one else uses his signature blend of dramatic light, intense naturalism and bold, striking figures. His incredible paintings have captivated audiences for centuries. But there lies a deeper mystery - one that still beckons us to explore. What do these masterpieces reveal about the man behind the brush? The intriguing self-depictions within his works - sometimes disguised, sometimes in plain sight - offer a rare window into his psyche and personal struggles. Join us as we unravel the story of one of history’s most brilliant, complex and controversial figures.
UK 2025 DAVID BICKERSTAFF/PHIL GRABSKY 90M
We are delighted to welcome co-director Phil Grabsky for a Q&A after the screening.
Sun 24 Aug 11:00 – Lumiere
A tale of a unique and fragile city - Venice - that is slowly disappearing, suffocated by tourism and threatened by climate change. A voice from a distant future tells of a vanished city that was once among the most famous in the world, Venice. Amidst legends, rituals and hearsay, the narrator describes its daily life made of boats and its profound relationship with the lagoon surrounding it. Did that city ever exist? There is magic captured in this beautiful, unusual film. It is not only about “the most beautiful city” in the world, but about every other city too. This is the Venice that Marco Polo carried in his mind on his travels. The cinematography, the graphics, the sound design and the historical perspective all work together in this beautiful and ethereal love letter, and what emerges is even greater than the sum of those remarkable parts. (Subtitles)
ITALY 2022 GIOVANNI PELLEGRINI 85M
Few actors move so deftly between period corsets and mind-bending sci-fi, between wartime secrets and revenge in the outback. It is a skill closely associated with Kate Winslet, who has carved a career out of unpredictability, refusing to be pinned down or typecast. Whether inhabiting a quiet, emotionally layered character or commanding the screen with fierce resolve, she brings intelligence and nuance to every role.
This curated strand offers a glimpse into her extraordinary rangefrom aching intimacy to sweeping drama and bold reinvention. It’s a chance to rediscover familiar films through fresh eyes and uncover lesser-known gems that showcase just how fearlessly Winslet embraces complexity. We have purposely not included some of her more popular films such as ‘Titanic’ and ‘The Holiday’, which get countless repeats on our television screens.
Discover love, memory, history and transformation with one of the most compelling performers of her generation, whom we are lucky enough to count as a ‘local’.
This strand has been made possible by the wonderful support of rendezvouzcinema.com
Winner of the Bafta for Best Film (1996). Rich Mr. Dashwood dies, leaving his second wife and her three daughters poor by the rules of inheritance. The older two daughters are the title opposites.
When Elinor Dashwood’s (Emma Thompson) father dies, her family is forced to move to a small cottage in Devonshire, where Elinor’s passionate sister Marianne (Kate Winslet) encounters the handsome John Willoughby (Greg Wise) and the older Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman). Meanwhile, Elinor’s romantic hopes with Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) appear to come to nothing. Both Elinor and Marianne strive for love while the circumstances in their lives constantly change. One of this film’s outstanding qualities is in the way it keeps Austen’s voice and manages to find the satirical smirk behind it – proof of a great partnership between screenwriter Emma Thompson (who won the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar for this film) – and director Ang Lee (who went on to make ‘Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon’ and ‘Brokeback Mountain’ in the following decade). Besides winning the Best Film Bafta, it also won Best Actress (Thompson) and Best Supporting Actress (Winslet). A true delight.
UK 1995 ANG LEE 136M
When their relationship turns sour, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each other erased from their memories forever.
After a painful breakup, Clementine (Kate Winslet) undergoes a procedure to erase memories of her former boyfriend Joel (Jim Carrey) from her mind. When Joel discovers that Clementine is going to extremes to forget their relationship, he undergoes the same procedure and slowly begins to forget the woman that he loved. Directed by former music video director Michel Gondry, this visually arresting film explores the intricacy of relationships and the pain of loss. The two leads are both quietly heartbreaking in Gondry’s ground-breaking romance, co-written by the one-of-a-kind Charlie Kaufman (‘Being John Malkovich’). It is a wildly imaginative, hugely entertaining tour de force that asks big questions about life and love and fate while never ceasing to fully engage the viewer.
USA 2004 MICHEL GONDRY 108M
Tue 19 Aug 13:30 – Lumiere
A talk looking back at the career of one of the finest screen actors of the last thirty years. This talk, by Professor Maggie Andrews, of the Cinema Education Team, will explore, using a range of clips, some of the independent, Hollywood, British and Australasian films which have featured in Kate Winslet’s extensive and high-profile career, of more than thirty years. Her unquestionable acting talent has seen her portray complex, contradictory and often uncompromising versions of femininity on screen. From ‘Heavenly Creatures’ to ‘Lee’ all these texts have raised questions about the limitations and possibilities of contemporary womanhood. Whilst some of Winslet’s roles have been rooted in the gently feminist sensibilities of heritage drama, such as ‘Titanic’ and ‘A Little Chaos’, others have involved thornier problems: women’s illiteracy and culpability, as an SS guard in ‘The Reader’, or the dangers of DIY abortions in ‘Revolutionary Road’. More recently, her seemingly fearless onscreen sexuality has opened up debates about gender, age, visibility and value in ‘The Dressmaker’ and ‘Ammonite’. 100M INC Q&A
Wed 20 Aug 10:45 – Auditorium
Post-WWII Germany. Nearly a decade after his affair with an older woman came to a mysterious end, a law student re-encounters his former lover as she defends herself in a war crime trial. Kate Winslet deservedly won both Oscar and Bafta for Best Actress for this outstanding performance.
Michael Berg (David Kross), a teen in postwar Germany, begins a passionate but clandestine affair with Hanna Schmitz (Kate Winslet), an older woman who enjoys having classic novels read to her. Then Hanna mysteriously disappears, leaving Michael heartbroken and confused. Years later, Michael (Ralph Fiennes), now a law student, gets the shock of his life when he sees Hanna on trial for Nazi war crimes.
‘The Reader’ boasts some of the finest credentials on film: it is lit by two of Britain’s finest cinematographers, Roger Deakins and Chris Menges; it is directed with great sensitivity by Stephen Daldry (‘The Hours’); and with a screenplay by the incomparable David Hare, it is gripping and intense, and told with immense restraint and no hint of sensationalism.
GERMANY/USA 2008 STEPHEN DALDRY 124M
Fri 22 Aug 16:00 – Lumiere
Sat 23 Aug 11:00 – Auditorium
Sun 24 Aug 13:30 – Lumiere
Based on the best-selling novel by Rosalie Ham, this bittersweet, comedy-drama is set in early 1950s Australia.
Tilly Dunnage (Kate Winslet), a beautiful and talented misfit, after many years working as a dressmaker in exclusive Parisian fashion houses, returns home to the tiny, backward, middle-of-nowhere town of Dungatar to right the wrongs of the past. Not only does she reconcile with her ailing, eccentric mother Molly (Judy Davis steals the show here with many references to Gloria Swanson and ‘Sunset Boulevard’) and unexpectedly falls in love with the pure-hearted Teddy (Liam Hemsworth), but armed with her sewing machine and incredible sense of style, she transforms the women of the town and in so doing exerts sweet revenge on those who did her wrong. Enormously good fun.
AUSTRALIA 2015 JOCELYN MOORHOUSE 119M
Francis Lee’s sensational biopic of palaeontology pioneer Mary Anning reimagines her erotic encounter with a woman trapped in a stifling marriage.
It is odd to reflect that Kate Winslet and Saoirse Ronan had not featured in a film together before this one. ‘Ammonite’ unites them at last, with Winslet as palaeontologist Mary Anning, collecting specimens along Dorset’s Jurassic Coast. She is entrusted to care for Charlotte, the young wife of a wealthy tourist. Initially they clash, but despite differences of class and personality a bond grows between them, compelling the two women to determine the true nature of their relationship. Francis Lee also directed the bleak and beautiful ‘God’s Own Country’ in 2017. Expect suppressed emotions and scandal set against the rugged and magnificent Southern coastline.
UK 2020 FRANCIS LEE 120M
The story of photographer Elizabeth ‘Lee’ Miller, a fashion model who became an acclaimed war correspondent for Vogue magazine during World War II. American war correspondent and photographer, Lee Miller (Kate Winslet), possessed a singular talent and unbridled tenacity which resulted in some of the 20th century’s most indelible images of warincluding an iconic photo of Miller herself posing defiantly in Hitler’s private bathtub. Miller had a profound understanding and empathy for women and the voiceless victims of war. Winslet shines in this biopic with a superbly powerful performance. She remains one of our most treasured actors and she brings a fierceness to this role.
USA 2023 ELLEN KURAS 116M
Jack Lemmon (8 February 1925 – 27 June 2001), born 100 years ago this year, was the kind of actor who could make you laugh out loud one moment and break your heart the next - all without missing a beat. Effortlessly shifting between comedy and drama, he brought a rare mix of charm, vulnerability and razor-sharp timing to every role. Whether playing the lovable everyman, the down-on-his-luck dreamer or the tightly wound oddball, Lemmon never felt less than completely real.
We will attempt to celebrate the breadth of his career, from iconic comic pairings (think Shirley MacLaine in ‘The Apartment’ and Walter Matthau in ‘The Odd Couple’) to searing solo turns, offering a masterclass in screen acting that still feels fresh today.
We are very much looking forward to welcoming film writer and lifelong Lemmon fan, Hannah Gatward, who will give a talk on Jack Lemmon illustrated with many of his film clips. This will be not only educational, but a true delight.
If you have only seen one side of Lemmon, prepare to be surprised. And if you already know what he can do, you will not want to miss the chance to see him shine on the big screen once again.
Marilyn Monroe, Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis keep this joyous Billy Wilder comedy fizzing from start to finish.
Two struggling musicians witness the St. Valentine’s Day Massacre and are now on the run from the Mob. Jerry (Jack Lemmon) and Joe (Tony Curtis) cross-dress into an allfemale band. In addition to hiding, each has his own problems; one falls for another band member (Sugar Kane - voluptuously played by Monroe), but can’t tell her/his gender, and the other has a rich suitor who will not take “No” for an answer. ‘Some Like It Hot’ is effortlessly fluent, joyous and buoyant: a high-concept comedy that stays as high as a kite, while other comedies flag. “Nobody’s perfect” is the last line. Wilder, Lemmon, Curtis and Monroe come pretty close.
USA 1959 BILLY WILDER 121M
Sat 16 Aug 10:15 – Auditorium
A Manhattan office worker tries to rise in his company by letting its executives use his apartment for trysts, but office politics and his own romantic hopes complicate matters. Insurance worker C.C. Baxter (Jack Lemmon) lends his Upper West Side apartment to company bosses to use for extramarital affairs. When his manager Mr. Sheldrake (Fred MacMurray) begins using Baxter’s apartment in exchange for promoting him, Baxter is disappointed to learn that Sheldrake’s mistress is Fran Kubelik (Shirley MacLaine), the elevator girl at work whom Baxter is interested in himself. Soon Baxter must decide between the girl he loves and the advancement of his career. Two towering central performances from Lemmon and MacLaine perfectly complement the timeless Billy Wilder script. This is the perfect romcom, not because it is light-hearted, but because it also has a dark side.
USA 1960 BILLY WILDER 125M
Sun 17 Aug 10:45 – Lumiere
Sun 24 Aug 15:00 – Windmill Cinema
A New Yorker newly separated from his wife moves in with his best friend, a divorced sportswriter, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day. When fussy Felix (Jack Lemmon) becomes suicidal over his impending divorce, he accepts an offer to move in with his best friend, messy Oscar (Walter Matthau). Felix drives Oscar crazy with his obsession over his soon-to-be ex. Oscar tries to get him out of his funk by arranging a double date with two wacky British neighbours, Cecily (Monica Evans) and Gwendolyn (Carole Shelley). When the plan backfires and Felix grows even more despondent, his friendship with Oscar is put to the test. Playwright-screenwriter Neil Simon has made the most of every best line in his original play to provide the two film leads with first-rate material to drool over. With its whip-smart screenplay and actors at the very top of their game, this is still as funny and fresh nearly 60 years on from its original release.
USA 1968 GENE SAKS 105M
Tue 19 Aug 15:45 – Lumiere
Jack Lemmon won a Best Actor Oscar for this role, which sees him as a troubled garment manufacturer who explores dark avenues to keep his small debt-ridden factory afloat. Clothing manufacturer Harry Stoner (Jack Lemmon) mourns the loss of his youthful idealism even as he seals his fate by arranging to have an arsonist (Thayer David) torch his faltering factory for the insurance settlement. Stoner’s conflicts with himself, his business partner (Jack Gilford), his distant wife (Patricia Smith) and a demanding client (Norman Burton) boil over during a nightmarish presentation at a fashion show, while a free-spirited hippie girl (Laurie Heineman) offers escape. Featuring a tour-de-force Oscar-winning performance from Lemmon, this is a meticulously painted portrait of a deeply flawed human being, and through it, finds something to say about the growing cynicism and bleak reality of 1970s America.
USA 1973 JOHN G. AVILDSEN 100M
Sat 23 Aug 13:15 – Lumiere
Sat 23 Aug 15:45 - Lumiere
JACK LEMMON ON SCREEN
It’s the centenary of one of the best loved Hollywood stars and this talk will celebrate his work.
100 years after the birth of Hollywood’s ultimate everyman, Jack Lemmon remains an irresistibly charismatic screen presence, with two Academy Awards and a body of work including cinematic masterpieces and hefty television drama. Although best known for comedy classics like ‘Some Like it Hot’, he conveyed pathos and tragedy in even the most light-hearted of scenes. From early career turns in ‘Mister Roberts’ to the dark satire of ‘The Apartment’, and the desperate death of the American Dream in ‘The China Syndrome’ and ‘Glengarry Glen Ross’, he was always a dynamic force, elevating even the smallest of roles. To accompany the Festival’s Jack Lemmon strand, join film writer and lifelong Lemmon fan, Hannah Gatward, for a discussion, including a range of memorable clips, on the rich and varied films of this sometimes-overlooked legend of the screen. As he said before every take: “It’s magic time”.
100M INC Q&A
An alcoholic marries a young woman and systematically turns her to booze so that they can share his “passion” together.
Joe Clay (Jack Lemmon) is a rising young public relations executive when he meets Kirsten Arnesen (Lee Remick), a pretty secretary, at a business party. Joe and Kirsten are both ambitious, and they are on the road to success when they fall in love and marry. Soon after, however, Joe coaxes Kirsten to begin drinking with him on a regular basis. The movie plays like an extended advertisement for Prohibition, three decades after it ended. There is a kind of nervy, self-loathing sycophant whom Jack Lemmon can play better than any other actor: he did it in ‘The Apartment’, and there is a harrowing variant in this film. USA 1962 BLAKE EDWARDS 117M
The box office is located inside the Cinema via the side entrance of the building by the Picture Palace. If you have purchased your tickets online, you will receive an email confirmation on your phone. You do not need to show the confirmation 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 13-24 Aug 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 and we thank you for your understanding.
The bar is run by the New Park Sports and Social Club (not the Cinema) and it is open before each film. Its kind bar staff, all of whom are volunteers, offer a wide range of both hot and cold drinks, snacks and sandwiches 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 carpark 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 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 cinema but must be booked in advance and be seated in designated areas.
Please remember there are no ads and trailers during the Festival. Please arrive promptly to avoid spoiling the films, talks and events for others. Thank you
Payal Kapadia’s 2024 film ‘All We Imagine as Light’ surprised many by topping the Sight & Sound poll for the best film of that year. Many are of the opinion that Indian filmmakers only produce extravagant, all-singing, all-dancing, Bollywood epics, but scratch that little bit deeper, and you discover some quality filmmakers revealing India’s soul.
From rural landscapes to urban complexity, these films reveal the emotional and social depth of a country often flattened into cliché. This is storytelling that favours nuance over spectacle, where a glance can carry more weight than a dance number.
With a history that includes Satyajit Ray – his ‘Apu Trilogy’ is still revered today – it is really no wonder that such moving dramatic films, with impressive cinematography at their core, are being made today. Join us in revelling in some of these most impressive films from the Indian sub-continent.
This strand has been kindly supported by local Indian restaurant JUNGLE JUNCTION. See pg45 for details on a very special discount offer.
Fri 15 Aug 18:30 – Lumiere
SABAR BONDA
A touching, beautifully observed rural drama about a city-dweller who returns to his village for his father’s funeral, observes the 10-day mourning period and associated rituals, all the while wrestling with what his family think about him.
Anand (Bhushaan Manoj), a 30-something living in Mumbai, is compelled to spend a 10-day mourning period for his father in the rugged countryside of western India. Grief’s common phases (reminiscing over old photos, sharing beloved memories) coexist with local rituals, all while Anand’s hidden desires materialise in a rekindled friendship with childhood companion Balya (Suraaj Suman) who is being pushed, even more relentlessly, towards marriage. Anand’s mother Suman (Jaysri Jagtap) knows why he went away, and why he has never married, but despite her acceptance, he still feels guilt over the way that he has complicated their lives. He struggles with being in a place where, for fear of making Suman’s life harder at this already difficult time, he cannot be honest about who he is. In giving way to her pleas that he remains to lead the ten days of funerary rights, ensuring the safe progression of his father’s soul, he commits himself to rebuilding their relationship and to once again enduring the pressures that made him miserable in the past. This is a thoughtful, lyrical ode to a disappearing way of life, full of respect for its contributions to modern, urban India. Beautifully shot, and presented on screen within a 1980s photo-style border with rounded corners, further adding to the feel of a place lost in time. (Subtitles)
INDIA 2025 ROHAN KANAWADE 112M
We thank this authentic Chichester Indian restaurant for the very generous deal they are offering all Festival attendees.
Ticket holders for any of the films in this Film Festival are entitled to a very special offer of 20% OFF THE
Valid from 13-24 August 2025, simply mention this offer and show your ticket when arriving at the restaurant. Valid for Restaurant Menu only.
Tel: 01243 850715
Email: contact@junglejunction.co.uk 10-13 St Pancras, Chichester, PO19 7SJ
Sat 16 Aug 10:45 – Lumiere
Wed 20 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
A mistaken delivery in Mumbai’s famously efficient lunchbox delivery system connects a young housewife to an older man in the dusk of his life as they build a fantasy world together through notes in the lunchbox. Lonely housewife Ila (Nimrat Kaur) decides to try adding some spice to her stale marriage by preparing a special lunch for her neglectful husband. Unfortunately, the delivery goes astray and winds up in the hands of Saajan (Irrfan Khan), an irritable widower. Curious about her husband’s lack of response, Ila adds a note to the next day’s lunchbox, and thus begins an unusual friendship in which Saajan and Ila can talk about their joys and sorrows without ever meeting in person. This wry and gently comic real charmer of a film expertly captures the almost overwhelming crush and noise of contemporary India, playing cleverly and delicately with the tension of whether its two correspondents might eventually meet. Irrfan Khan is tremendous. (Subtitles)
INDIA 2013 RITESH BATRA 104M
The first in Satyajit Ray’s legendary ‘Apu Trilogy’ follows an impoverished priest dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, who leaves his rural Bengal village behind in search of work.
Harihar (Kanu Bannerjee) leaves his wife Sarbojaya (Karuna Bannerjee) alone to look after rebellious daughter, Durga (Uma Das Gupta), and her young son, Apu (Subir Bannerjee), as well as Harihar’s elderly aunt Indir (Chunibala Devi). The children enjoy the small pleasures of their difficult life, while their parents suffer the daily indignities heaped upon them. Specifically, this film is about India, but actually it is about everybody. The poetry of the film transcends its locality and speaks to us all. Satyajit Ray managed to deliver a classic with his debut, which features a soul-shaking sitar soundtrack by Ravi Shankar. (Subtitles)
INDIA 1955 SATYAJIT RAY 126M
Sight & Sound best film of the year (2024). The light, the lives and the textures of contemporary, working-class Mumbai are explored and celebrated in this Cannes Grand Prize winner. Centring on two roommates - Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha) plus their coworker Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam) - Kapadia’s film alights on moments of connection and heartache, hope and disappointment. Prabha has her husband from an arranged marriage living in faraway Germany; Hindu Anu carries on a secret romance with a Muslim man; and Parvaty finds herself dealing with a sudden eviction. Kapadia captures the bustle of the metropolis and the open-air tranquillity of a seaside village with equal radiance, articulated by her superb actresses and by the camera that occasionally drifts into dreamlike incandescence. (Subtitles)
INDIA 2024 PAYAL KAPADIA 118M
When a low-caste girl’s body is found in the rural badlands of Northern India, a newly appointed police officer is pulled into the investigation alongside her corrupt colleagues.
Santosh (brilliantly played by Shahana Goswami) is an emotionally bruised young woman who takes up the option of ‘compassionate appointment’, a scheme in India that enables women to take up their deceased husband’s old jobs. When a girl’s body is found, her lazy, bribable fellow officers, under the command of bullying Inspector Sharma, seem to do anything but the right thing. This terrific slow-burn drama is the anti-Hollywood version of the straightarrow cop navigating corruption on the force (think ‘LA Confidential’ and ‘Serpico’), but more unusually, it is a female rural Indian police officer at the core, meaning a far murkier and less predictable affair. The problems are far too deep-seated for one well-meaning, inexperienced young constable to solve, leading us into a maze of compromised ethics, police brutality, caste violence and misogyny. Quality filmmaking. (Subtitles)
INDIA 2024 SANDHYA SURI 128M
Few authors have inspired as many irresistible screen adaptations as Jane Austen. Her sharp wit, keen social observation and deeply human characters have proven timeless, just as potent in a 19th century drawing room as on a 20th century soundstage.
Some 250 years on from her birth, we bring together a rich selection of Austen films, each offering its own take on love, class, family and the quiet rebellions of strong-minded women. From sumptuous period details to sparkling dialogue, these adaptations capture the enduring charm - and bite - of Austen’s world.
We urge you to revisit these favourites – Emma Thompson’s screenplay for ‘Sense and Sensibility’ should be re-watched over and over – and find plenty to swoon over, sigh with and smile at. As an accompaniment, we also present a new French release, ‘Jane Austen Wrecked My Life’, offering an outside view into the effect of Jane Austen on all of us.
It is a rare treat to see these beloved stories on the big screen - so come along and let Austen’s world work its magic all over again.
Thu 14 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
Mon 18 Aug 13:45 – Lumiere
The arrival of wealthy bachelors in town causes an uproar when families with single daughters aggressively seek engagements, including the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters.
In the early 19th century in the English village of Meryton, the arrival of wealthy bachelors, most notably Mr. Darcy (Laurence Olivier), stirs up the families with single daughters. Among those is the Bennet family, with five eligible daughters, including the spirited Elizabeth (Greer Garson) and her pretty older sister, Jane (Maureen O’Sullivan). As Mrs. Bennet (Mary Boland) aggressively tries to pair off her girls, Elizabeth crosses swords with the imperious Darcy. The film’s spirit is entirely in keeping with Austen’s sharp, witty portrait of rural 19th century society, together with some extravagant costumes.
USA 1940 ROBERT Z. LEONARD 118M
‘Persuasion’ was Austen’s last finished novel, written when the society she so eloquently satirised was beginning to significantly change.
As one of three daughters of the wealthy Sir Walter Elliot (Corin Redgrave), Anne Elliot (Amanda Root) is a privileged but lonely member of the English aristocracy. Unlike Elizabeth Bennet from ‘Pride and Prejudice’, Anne Elliot is not playful or witty but quiet, sensible, and regrets not having the courage of her convictions. When her father leaves on a trip, he rents out part of his estate to relatives of Anne’s ex-fiancé, Capt. Frederick Wentworth (Ciarán Hinds). Though Anne demurred over the marriage because of Wentworth’s poor social standing and connections, he has since become very successful, and when he visits, Anne must confront the life she left behind. Hinds plays Wentworth with a wonderful mix of dash and awkwardness. This is a film which reminds us no matter what missteps we make, there might be hope of a happy ending after all.
UK 1995 ROGER MICHELL 103M
Fri 15 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
Tue 19 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
Thu 21 Aug 11:15 – Lumiere
Winner of the Bafta for Best Film (1996), we screen this modern classic as a nod to both Jane Austen and Kate Winslet. When Elinor Dashwood’s (Emma Thompson) father dies, her family is forced to move to a small cottage in Devonshire, where Elinor’s passionate sister Marianne (Kate Winslet) encounters the handsome John Willoughby (Greg Wise) and the older Colonel Brandon (Alan Rickman). Meanwhile, Elinor’s romantic hopes with Edward Ferrars (Hugh Grant) appear to come to nothing. Screenwriter Emma Thompson and director Ang Lee form a magnificent partnership. A true delight.
UK 1995 ANG LEE 136M
While matchmaking for friends and neighbours, a young 19th century Englishwoman nearly misses her own chance at love.
In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s classic novel, pretty socialite Emma Woodhouse (Gwyneth Paltrow) entertains herself by playing matchmaker for those around her. Her latest “project” is Harriet Smith (Toni Collette), an unpretentious debutant, while Emma herself receives the attentions of the dashing Frank Churchill (Ewan McGregor). However, Emma’s attempts at matchmaking result in more problems than solutions and may ultimately jeopardise her own chance at love and happiness. Paltrow makes a resplendent Emma, gliding through the film with an elegance and patrician wit that bring the young Katharine Hepburn to mind.
USA/UK 1996 DOUGLAS MCGRATH 120M
Fanny, born into a poor family, is sent away to live with her wealthy uncle, where she will be brought up for a proper introduction to society. Fanny (Frances O’Connor), born into a poor family, is sent away to live with her uncle Sir Thomas (Harold Pinter), his wife (Lindsay Duncan) and their four children. She is treated unfavourably by her relatives, except for her cousin Edmund (Jonny Lee Miller), whom she grows fond of. However, Fanny’s life is thrown into disarray with the arrival of worldly Mary Crawford (Embeth Davidtz) and her brother Henry (Alessandro Nivola). Harold Pinter’s portrayal of the decent, insensitive Sir Thomas, a man with various guilts gnawing at his soul, is a highlight of the film, alongside Patricia Rozema’s rich and tactile direction, making sure to take care of the less obvious interactions in the grander scenes.
UK/USA 1999 PATRICIA ROZEMA 112M
Wed 20 Aug 13:30 –
Wed 20 Aug 19:30 –
JANE AUSTEN A GÂCHÉ MA VIE
A desperately single bookseller, lost in a fantasy world, finds herself forced to fulfil her dreams of becoming a writer in order to stop messing up her love life. Agathe (Camille Rutherford), hopelessly clumsy yet charming and full of contradictions, finds herself in desperate singlehood. Her dream is to experience love akin to a Jane Austen novel and her ultimate aspiration is to become a writer. Instead, she spends her days selling books in the legendary British Bookshop, Shakespeare & Co. in Paris. Invited to the Jane Austen Writers’ Residency in England, she must confront her insecurities to finally fulfil her ambition of becoming a novelist and put an end to wasting her sentimental life. Agathe is an Elizabeth Bennet-type character in the shape of a Phoebe Waller-Bridge protagonist: she is lonely, depressed, a bit of an alcoholic and often facing an existential crisis. Full of delight and dry wit, together with a hint of the Richard Curtis rom-com, this is sure to be a crowd-pleaser. (Subtitles)
FRANCE 2024 LAURA PIANI 94M
Thu 21 Aug 14:30 – Lumiere
As the celebrations continue for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Jane Austen, this talk looks back at the numerous film versions of her work.
As the millennium drew to a close, Cool Britannia gathered momentum on the wave of Britpop and the Young British Artists. Into this celebration of youth suddenly burst a plethora of screen adaptations of a Regency novelist not seen in the cinema for over fifty years. 250 years after her birth, this talk, by Cinema Education Officer Patrick Hargood, will look back at the Austen phenomenon and its aftermath, focusing on the big screen adaptations of her work. Films under discussion (including plenty of clips) will include Ang Lee and Emma Thompson’s ‘Sense and Sensibility’, along with Gwyneth Paltrow as ‘Emma’, and her modern iteration, Alicia Silverstone’s Cher, in ‘Clueless’. Some 30 years on, the Austen juggernaut continues its relentless path, but what does this say about British culture and identity and to what extent do the adaptations offer an authentic version of Austen’s art?
100M INC Q&A
Welcome to the dreamlike, disquieting world of David Lynch (20 January 1946 - 16 January 2025) - where logic takes a back seat, beauty has a dark twin, and the line between nightmare and reality is deliciously blurred. Few filmmakers have so confidently defied convention, creating a cinematic language all their own: unsettling, hypnotic and strangely moving. Lynch does not just tell stories - he distorts them, slows them down, peels them open and lets the subconscious spill out.
This strand invites you to explore some of Lynch’s most famous and critically acclaimed works. Films that you may have heard of but perhaps not seen on the big screen. Films that are strange and sublime, grotesque and tender, all capturing the essence of Lynch’s unique vision. Whether you are a longtime devotee or a curious newcomer, prepare for a journey through cinema at its most uncompromising - and exhilarating.
Nothing is quite what it seems… and that is exactly the point!
This strand has been made possible by the wonderful support of
rendezvouzcinema.com
Thu 14 Aug 18:30 – Lumiere
An exquisitely textured and reflective documentary about David Lynch’s life as a visual artist, narrated by the idiosyncratic filmmaker.
Getting up close and personal with David Lynch as a visual artist. That’s what this exquisitely textured and reflective documentary offers. Narrated by the man himself, speaking into a lovely vintage microphone from his painting studio in the hills above Hollywood, he takes us on an intimate journey through his youth. He talks about his childhood in small-town America, his family, the awkward teenage years, his anxieties and fears. Life in general really, along with the people who helped him become who he is. Lynch recounts the influence his youth had on him as an artist and his subsequent move into filmmaking. Combining home movies, stock footage, moody artworks and observations of him working on his paintings and sculptures, ‘David Lynch: The Art Life’ is both an immersive and compelling experience. He’s an entrancing storyteller, delivering a few juicy anecdotes. And the soundtrack, as you’d expect, is deliciously strange, dark and beautiful.
USA/DENMARK 2016 JON NGUYEN, RICK BARNES, OLIVIA NEERGAARD-HOLM 93M
Thu 14 Aug 20:30 – Lumiere
Henry Spencer tries to survive his industrial environment, his angry girlfriend, and the unbearable screams of his newborn mutant child. David Lynch’s 1977 feature debut is one of those rare films that really deserves its cult status.
Henry (John Nance) resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling with Mary X (Charlotte Stewart) left her pregnant, he marries the expectant mother and has her move in with him. Things take a decidedly strange turn when the couple’s baby turns out to be a bizarre, lizard-like creature that won’t stop wailing. This is beautiful and strange, with its profoundly disturbing ambient sound design of industrial groaning, as if filmed inside some collapsing factory or gigantic dying organism. ‘Eraserhead’ is a singular work of the imagination, a harrowing, heartbreaking plunge into the darkest recesses of the soul.
USA 1977 DAVID LYNCH 89M
Mon 18 Aug 16:15 – Lumiere
A talk looking back at the career of one of the most remarkable auteurs to emerge from American cinema in the last 50 years.
David Lynch, who died in January of this year, was one of America’s most distinctive auteurs. At once a pop culture icon, visionary artist and popular surrealist, Lynch enthralled and provoked viewers since his cult screen debut, ‘Eraserhead’ in 1977.
Lynch’s sense of the beauty and terror of the little details of human lives defines his work. Surrealistic imagery and bold sound design combine in his films to create unsettling and immersive worlds. Worlds where horror and humour coexist, in screen masterpieces such as ‘Blue Velvet’, ‘Mulholland Drive’ and ‘Twin Peaks’.
Nick Johnston-Jones of the Cinema Education Team presents an overview and discussion of this unique and greatly loved screen artist.
100M INC Q&A
A Victorian surgeon rescues a heavily disfigured man who is mistreated while scraping a living as a side-show freak. Behind his monstrous façade, there is revealed a person of kindness, intelligence and sophistication.
Dr. Frederic Treves (Anthony Hopkins) discovers Joseph (John) Merrick (John Hurt) in a sideshow. Born with a congenital disorder, Merrick uses his disfigurement to earn a living as the “Elephant Man”. Treves brings Merrick into his home, discovering that his rough exterior hides a refined soul, and that Merrick can teach the stodgy British upper class of the time a lesson about dignity. Merrick becomes the toast of London before charming a caring actress (Anne Bancroft). The film’s arc moves the viewer from repulsion and fear to empathy and tenderness – that is the very movement of the story itself. Hurt’s Merrick is extremely powerful, and this brooding David Lynch take on a real-life tale is a work of true potency. USA/UK 1980 DAVID LYNCH 124M
Mon 18 Aug 18:30 – Lumiere
David Lynch peeks behind the picket fences of small-town America to reveal a corrupt, shadowy world of malevolence, sadism and madness.
From the opening shots, Lynch turns the Technicolor picture postcard images of middle-class homes into a dreamy vision on the edge of nightmare. College boy Kyle MacLachlan (Jeffrey) returns home and stumbles across a severed human ear in a vacant lot. With the help of a sweetly innocent high-school girl (Laura Dern), he turns junior detective and uncovers a frightening yet darkly compelling world of voyeurism and sex. Drawn deeper into the brutal world of drug dealer and blackmailer Frank, played with raving mania by an obscenityshouting Dennis Hopper, Jeffrey loses his innocence and his moral bearings when confronted with pure, unexplainable evil. Isabella Rossellini is terrifyingly desperate as Hopper’s sexual slave who becomes MacLachlan’s illicit lover, and Dean Stockwell purrs through his role. David Lynch delivers a nightmarish masterpiece.
USA 1986 DAVID LYNCH 120M
Wed 20 Aug 20:15 – Lumiere
Laura Palmer’s harrowing final days are chronicled one year after the murder of Teresa Banks, a resident of Twin Peaks’ neighbouring town.
In the folksy town of Deerfield, Washington, FBI Agent Desmond (Chris Isaak) inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who murdered a teen girl. The killer is never apprehended and, after experiencing dark visions and supernatural encounters, Agent Dale Cooper (Kyle MacLachlan) chillingly predicts that the culprit will claim another life. Meanwhile, in the similarly cozy town of Twin Peaks, hedonistic beauty Lara Palmer (Sheryl Lee) hangs with lowlifes and seems destined for a grisly fate. This haunting prequel to Lynch’s infamous TV hit is a moody and surreal fever dream, anchored by a careerbest performance by Sheryl Lee. It will linger long after the credits roll.
USA 1992 DAVID LYNCH 134M
After a car wreck on Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesiac, she and a Hollywood hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality.
A brunette (Laura Elena Harring) is left without memory after a car crash and wanders the streets of Los Angeles in a daze before being taken in by Betty (Naomi Watts), a wholesome Midwestern blonde who has come to the City of Angels seeking fame as an actress. Together, the two attempt to solve the mystery of the brunette’s true identity. This film has a hypnotic rhythm that could only be Lynch’s, and it really draws you in - it is a bona fide masterpiece, an erotic, unsettling, darkly comic journey through the subconscious city of night. There is something endlessly fascinating about a film that prioritises questions over answers, stretching our
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Country music has always been about storytelling - heartache and hope all wrapped in twang and truth. It is no surprise then that the genre has inspired some of cinema’s most powerful and affecting films.
This strand dives deep into the soul of country, charting lives lived loud and quiet, on stages and in smoky bars, through fame, failure and, of course, redemption - especially the redemptive power of a great song. We are delighted to include Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’, which has its 50th anniversary this year, the same year as the director’s own centenary anniversary.
You need not be a die-hard fan of the genre: these films reveal a rich, emotional world that is more universal than you might expect. So grab a seat and let the music - and the stories behind it - carry you someplace unforgettable.
We are excited to launch this year’s Festival with an open-air screening at Priory Park, Chichester, of the brilliant Johnny Cash biopic - ‘Walk the Line’.
This strand has been made possible by the wonderful support of rendezvouzcinema.com
Fri 15 Aug 16:00 – Lumiere
A faded country music musician is forced to reassess his dysfunctional life during a doomed romance that also inspires him. With too many years of hazy days and boozy nights, former country music legend Bad Blake (Jeff Bridges) is reduced to playing dives and bowling alleys. In town for his latest gig, Blake meets Jean Craddock (Maggie Gyllenhaal), a sympathetic reporter who has come to do a story on him. He unexpectedly warms to her, and a romance begins, then the singer finds himself at a crossroads that may threaten his last shot at happiness. A phenomenal, heartbreaking performance from Bridges, which won him the Best Actor Oscar, powers this simple but affecting redemption story.
USA 2009 SCOTT COOPER 112M
Sat 16 Aug 13:30 – Lumiere
COUNTRY MUSIC ON SCREEN
In director Robert Altman’s centenary year and with his masterpiece ‘Nashville’ turning 50, this talk looks back at the history of country music and film. The association between country music and film goes back a long way, stretching from hardhitting dramas to tales of music industry hopefuls, from biopics to sentimental dramas. In a talk by Chichester Cinema Education Team’s Sandy Guthrie to mark the 50th anniversary of Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’, he will discuss how country music is deployed in films, highlighting the conventions in the stories of real and fictional country singers, and the ways it symbolises life in a distinct region of the USA, plus its legacy in other countries. The many clips will focus on the music described in the 1950s by legendary songwriter Harlan Howard as “three chords and the truth”, with the deceptively simple structure and emotive lyrics that have flowed out of Nashville and other hubs across the Southern States for more than a century. 100M INC Q&A
Sat 16 Aug 15:45 – Lumiere
‘Nashville’ follows a host of colourful characters – musicians, agents, fans, journalists, politicians, locals – during the city’s three-day country music festival in Robert Altman’s magnum opus.
A milestone in American cinema and of the key films of the 1970s, Robert Altman’s ‘Nashville’ is one of the most influential and dazzling films ever made. Weaving together the stories and interactions of twenty-four major characters with astonishing fluidity, this audacious, epic vision of America circa 1975 has lost none of its freshness or excitement. Taking place over five days in the nation’s music capital, Nashville, Tennessee, the film follows two dozen characters struggling for fulfilment, both personal and professional, amongst a backdrop of country and gospel musicians, outsider political campaigning, and the peripheries of life in between, building from one encounter at a time to create a wide-ranging tapestry of rich drama and human comedy. Featuring an exhilarating central vein of musical performances (written in character by many of the actors themselves) and a phenomenal cast including Ned Beatty, Karen Black, Keith Carradine, Geraldine Chaplin, Shelley Duvall, Scott Glenn, Jeff Goldblum, Michael Murphy and Lily Tomlin - gloriously restored in 4K.
USA 1975 ROBERT ALTMAN 160M
The fictionalised life of singer Loretta Lynn, a girl who rose from humble beginnings to become a country music star in the 1960s/1970s.
Raised in rural Kentucky poverty and married at the age of 13, Loretta Lynn (Sissy Spacek) begins writing and singing her own country songs in her early 1920s. With the tireless help of her husband Oliver “Mooney” Lynn (Tommy Lee Jones), Loretta rises from local honky-tonks and small-time record deals to national tours and hit singles, befriending her idol Patsy Cline (Beverly D’Angelo) and becoming a country music icon despite the toll stardom takes on her family and her marriage. ‘Coal Miner’s Daughter’ manages to dig deep, avoiding the saccharine pitfalls that surround many a musical biopic. It is a remarkable film, a slice of Americana seen through the compassionate, unprejudiced eyes of English director Michael Apted.
USA 1980 MICHAEL APTED 124M
Fri 22 Aug 10:30 – Lumiere
Buck is a country singer on the road caught in a romantic triangle with Viv and Lily, the daughter of his longtime musical sidekick.
Country music star Buck Bonham (Willie Nelson) has spent a lot of years on the road, but despite his wife Viv’s (Dyan Cannon) requests that he stay put, he just cannot give up the lifestyle. When his guitar player and best friend, Garland Ramsey (Slim Pickens), decides to retire, Buck replaces him with Garland’s daughter, Lily (Amy Irving), and heads back out on tour. The two begin an affair which Viv quickly picks up on, and Buck is forced to choose between the two women he loves. Cannon (‘Heaven Can Wait’) is exquisite in one of her best roles, but the presence of the great Willie Nelson is the real highlight, making his starring debut at the age of 47 (and not looking a day over 60). Grizzled, grinning, sweet-voiced and pleasant, and a very engaging actor.
USA 1980 JERRY SCHATZBERG 119M
W e ’ r e g o n n a n e e d a
b i g g e r t e a m . . .
S AV E T H E D AT E !
A M I N D F O R M O V I E S
O u r a n n u a l f u n d r a i s e r r e t u r n s t o t h e A s s e m b l y R o o m !
S a v e t h e d a t e f o r t h e U l t i m a t e F i l m Q u i z !
J o i n t h e f u n a n d t e s t y o u r m o v i e k n o w l e d g e .
E n j o y s o m e f r i e n d l y r i v a l r y !
C o m e a s a t e a m o r j o i n a n o t h e r – i t ' s y o u r c a l l .
G r e a t v i b e s , g r e a t r a f f l e p r i z e s
a n d g r e a t b r a g g i n g r i g h t s !
S A T N O V 2 2
v i s i t c h i c h e s t e r c i n e m a . o r g
u Screenings take place at Chichester's beautiful Priory Park.
u Bring a Picnic Blanket or Chair, and a Picnic Basket filled with your favourite goodies.
u Drinks & Snacks available.
u Book your Cream Tea in advance.
Fri 8 Aug 20:00 –
Priory Park
Gates open 19:00
Sat 9 Aug 16:00 –
Priory Park
Gates open 15:00
To launch the 2025 Open Air Screenings programme, we present a chronicle of country music legend Johnny Cash’s life. Johnny Cash’s (Joaquin Phoenix) early days as a boy were spent on the family farm, where he struggled under the scorn of his father (Robert Patrick). He eventually ends up in Memphis, Tennessee, and breaks into the music scene after finding his trademark sound - even recording alongside Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Carl Perkins. While on tour, Cash meets the love of his life, singer June Carter (Reese Witherspoon), but Cash’s volatile lifestyle threatens to keep them apart. The two leads are remarkable, both singing in their own voices, adding an extra dimension of rawness: Phoenix is imperious no doubt, but it is Witherspoon who almost steals the show with a simply perfect performance which won her both the Bafta and the Oscar for Best Actress.
USA 2005 JAMES MANGOLD 136M
Tickets: Advance Tickets £12.50 (£14.50 on the day if available)
‘Wicked’ on the big outdoor screen is a spectacular, generation-defining cinematic event. See it before the sequel in November.
The untold story of the witches of Oz. Elphaba (Cynthia Erivo), a young woman, misunderstood because of her unusual green skin, who has yet to discover her true power, and Glinda (Ariana Grande), a popular young woman, gilded by privilege and ambition, who has yet to discover her true heart. The two meet as students and forge an unlikely but profound friendship. Cast includes Jeff Goldblum as The Wizard.
USA 2024 JOHN M. CHU 161M
Tickets: Special Advance Family Ticket: £28 (2 Adults & 2 Kids) (£34 on the day if available)
Advance Tickets £12.50 (£14.50 on the day if available)
Kids £3 (£4 on the day if available)
Sat 9 Aug 20:45 – Priory Park
Gates open 19:15
Bridget Jones finally has some luck in her life; she has a great job as a screenwriter, her family and a new boyfriend. The fact that he is over 20 years younger than her isn’t the only thing that is causing problems. Bridget (Renée Zellweger) navigates life as a widow and single mum with the help of her family, friends and former lover Daniel (Hugh Grant). Back at work and on the apps, she’s pursued by a younger man and maybe - just maybe - her son’s science teacher. Zellweger, Grant, Colin Firth and Emma Thompson reprise their roles as Bridget Jones, Daniel Cleaver, Mark Darcy and Doctor Rawlings, respectively, with Chiwetel Ejiofor, Leo Woodall, Isla Fisher, Josette Simon, Nico Parker and Leila Farzad joining the cast.
UK 2025 MICHAEL MORRIS 124M
Tickets: Advance Tickets £12.50 (£14.50 on the day if available)
Sun 10 Aug 16:00 – Priory Park
Gates open 15:00
I feel the need. The need for… well… ‘Top Gun’ under the stars at Priory Park. One of the seminal 1980s films, it has achieved cinematic cult status and is infinitely rewatchable.
The Top Gun Naval Fighter Weapons School is where the best of the best train to refine their elite flying skills. When hotshot fighter pilot Maverick (Tom Cruise) is sent to the school, his reckless attitude and cocky demeanour put him at odds with the other pilots, especially the cool and collected Iceman (Val Kilmer). But Maverick isn’t only competing to be the top fighter pilot, he is also fighting for the attention of his beautiful flight instructor, Charlotte Blackwood (Kelly McGillis). This film has defined the modern-day action blockbuster.
USA 1986 TONY SCOTT 109M
Tickets: Special Advance Family Ticket: £28 (2 Adults & 2 Kids)
Advance Tickets £12.50 (£14.50 on the day if available)
Kids (Under 15) £3 (£4 on the day if available)
To close the open-air screenings weekend, let’s celebrate the life and music of legendary reggae musician Bob Marley, an icon who inspired generations through his message of love and unity.
Being a trailblazer, Bob Marley (a compelling Kingsley Ben-Adir) was involved in the development of reggae as a musical genre. Jamaican culture became more popular because of his music, which was not just about sounds, but a way of life. He preached peace, harmony and respect and was not afraid to use his music as a platform for his opinions on politics or religion. He has maintained such popularity over the years that you can find his poster hanging in modern-day student rooms, even though he hasn’t produced any music since 1980. He is a true icon. That being the case, the lead actor had to be perfect. Kingsley Ben-Adir was cast as Bob, after an extensive, year-long and globe-spanning search by the studio, and he shines as the Jamaican legend.
USA 2023 REINALDO MARCUS GREEN 120M
Tickets: Advance Tickets £12.50 (£14.50 on the day if available)
We will explore the realities of independent filmmaking and the path to securing funding.
After a screening of BFI NETWORK-funded short films, there will be an in-depth discussion with the filmmakers themselves. If you ' re curious about how to bring your stories to life while navigating the ups and downs of independent film production, this event is not to be missed!
DOCUMENTARY
Thu 21 Aug 19:00 –
A unique look at the legendary musician, arranger, composer and producer, Quincy Jones, this documentary offers a collage of memories, sounds and intimate interviews with musical greats in a rousing showcase. The filmmakers have looked unblinkingly at both happy and sad times, and some of the most poignant moments come as Quincy’s oldest daughter, Jolie Jones, talks quietly about her father. Many others who rarely talk for documentaries, talk here: Frank Sinatra, Ray Charles and even the shy Michael Jackson. Jones became the first black composer to score for mainstream films (‘In Cold Blood’) and has produced for musicians as varied as Ella Fitzgerald, Michael Jackson, Frank Sinatra, Barbra Streisand and rapper Kool Moe Dee. The film is constructed in a kaleidoscopic way. Instead of moving ponderously from one subject to another in chronological order, the filmmakers organise their material more like a jazz composition. The interview subjects are like soloists improvising on a theme and occasionally stepping in to comment on someone else’s observations. The result is an original piece of work, and by the end of the film, we know Quincy Jones much better than expected. USA 1990 ELLEN WEISSBROD 111M
Bar will be open during the 30-minute interval between the film and gig.
Complementing the documentary there will be a special set of jazz by five exceptional musicians, celebrating Quincy Jones’ boundarydefying influence on the musical universe.
Originating from Australia, vocalist Georgia Van Etten possesses a big, buttery voice, with which she creates retro soundscapes fusing soulful melodies with folk, jazz and rock. Joining her is the legendary Guy Barker, whose illustrious five-decade career includes being the UK’s premier jazz trumpet star, a highly sought session musician and, latterly, composer, arranger, conductor, and leader of his own jazz orchestra. Award-winning pianist Jim Watson, a prominent figure on the UK music scene and beyond, has lent his talents to recordings and performances with acclaimed artists like Van Morrison. Hailing from Ireland, Darren Beckett established himself in New York at the age of 18 as a drummer of precocious talent, performing with Brandon Flowers, Van Morrison and Lee Konitz, Ronnie Wood and Nick Cave. Curating this special musical tribute is the superb bassist Andrew Cleyndert , who makes a welcome return to Chichester to lead this world class band.
FILM & GIG - 240M
Tue 19 Aug 20:45 – St. John’s Chapel
A rare chance to experience a cinematic masterpiece made almost a century ago. ‘Sunrise’ is a pinnacle of craft and one of the most revered films of all time, distinguished by its astonishingly fluid and inventive camera work. The live musical accompaniment mixes improvisation and composition and will be played on piano, flute, accordion and harp.
In this F.W. Murnau (‘Nosferatu’) masterpiece, a farmer (George O’Brien) with a pretty wife (Janet Gaynor) begins a downward spiral after starting an affair with a vacationing woman from the city (Margaret Livingston). She wants him to return to the city with her but when he mentions his wife, she suggests drowning her. Considered one of the greatest silent films. Indeed, in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll, it was voted the 11th greatest film of all time! And yet surprisingly few people have seen it.
USA 1927 F.W. MURNAU 94M
The live musical accompaniment will be performed by one of the leading silent film performers, Stephen Horne, on piano, flute and accordion, alongside award-winning harpist and composer, Elizabeth-Jane Baldry.
Sat 23 Aug 16:15 – Auditorium
This is a special centenary edition of Sergei Eisenstein’s legendary ‘Battleship Potemkin’ featuring the celebrated score by the British duo Pet Shop Boys.
A fixture in the critical canon almost since its premiere, Eisenstein’s film about a 1905 naval mutiny was revolutionary in both form and content. It is renowned for its dynamic compositional strength and editing of such frame-perfect precision that it’s hard not to be swept along. First revealed at a special outdoor screening in front of an estimated 25,000 in Trafalgar Square in 2004, Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe’s score, performed with the Dresdner Sinfoniker and orchestrated by Torsten Rasch, blends electronic beats with orchestral grandeur to create a contemporary cinematic experience.
RUSSIA 1925 SERGEI EISENSTEIN 73M
Wed 20 Aug 20:30 – Auditorium
Tickets: Only £8
The Short Film Showcase returns to the Chichester International Film Festival programme. Join us for a mixture of shorts ranging from the locally produced to those made on the other side of the world.
This year’s films: All About Marketing and Miracles All We Have And That’s for This Christmas
The Creature from the Bag Lagoon Dairy
From Mother with Love
See the Festival website for full film details. VARIOUS DIRECTORS 110M
One More Day Peregrine Prayer of the Sea
The Titanium Angel TT
Typically one of the hottest tickets of the Film Festival, the Surprise Film is a unique, one-off screening where you will only know the film when the opening credits are projected on to the screen.
Will this year’s selection prove to be another Audience Award Winner as a few past Surprise Films have been (‘Pride’, ‘Untouchable’, ‘The Collini Case’)? Or will it be a Japanese film with Swedish subtitles that will have you wanting to walk out after 20 minutes? I bet you will stay to the very final credits with this year’s choice. Join us for this exciting cinema experience on the final Friday of the Festival.
APPROX 100M
Sandy Guthrie COUNTRY MUSIC ON SCREEN Sat 16 Aug 13:30 – Lumiere
Nick Johnston-Jones A CELEBRATION OF DAVID LYNCH
Mon 18 Aug 16:15 – Lumiere
Professor Maggie Andrews THE FILMS OF KATE WINSLET Tue 19 Aug 13:30 – Lumiere
Patrick Hargood THE FINE ART OF FILMING AUSTEN Thu 21 Aug 14:30 – Lumiere
Hannah Gatward JACK LEMMON ON SCREEN Sat 23 Aug 13:15 – Lumiere
Jane Centofante SAFFRON ROBE
Thu 14 Aug 13:00 – Lumiere
Zara Jian & Tatyana Movshevich I WILL REVENGE THIS WORLD WITH LOVE
Fri 15 Aug 12:45 – Lumiere
Alberto Sciamma & Alex Metcalfe CIELO
Sat 16 Aug 15:00 – Auditorium
pg13
Thor Klein & Lena Vurma LEONORA IN THE MORNING LIGHT
Sun 17 Aug 12:00 – Auditorium
Tony Palmer FALLS THE SHADOW Sun 17 Aug 14:45 – Auditorium
Joseph Millson SIGNS OF LIFE
Sun 17 Aug 18:00 – Auditorium
Denys Tarasov DIAGNOSIS: DISSENT
Hardeep Giani EUGENE O’NEILL’STHE FIRST MAN
Thu 21 Aug 16:45 – Lumiere
pg8
Gregory Motton DRACULA THE SEDUCER
Thu 21 Aug 20:15 – Lumiere
pg28
Tristan Loraine OUR JOURNEY WITH LOBULAR CANCER
Tue 19 Aug 20:15 – Lumiere pg19 pg28
Tristan Loraine THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING
Wed 20 Aug 13:00 – Lumiere
Fri 22 Aug 13:15 – Lumiere
Phil Grabsky CARAVAGGIO
Sun 24 Aug 13:00 – Auditorium
Priory
Brasserie
Fri 15 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:45 THE COLOUR OF POMEGRANATES (PG) 79M (WORLD) 26
12:45 I WILL REVENGE THIS WORLD WITH LOVE +Q&A (PG) 110M (DOCS) 26
15:30 THE TASTERS (15) 123M (EURO) 12
18:00 SORRY, BABY (15) 103M (UK/US) 7
20:15 YOUNG HEARTS (15) 99M (EURO) 12
Lumiere
10:30 SENSE AND SENSIBILITY (PG) 136M (WINSLET/AUSTEN) 35
13:30 MOTHER VERA (PG) 91M (DOCS) 27
16:00 CRAZY HEART (15) 112M (COUNTRY FOLK) 59
18:30 CACTUS PEARS (ADV15) 112M (INDIA) 45
20:45 MOTEL DESTINO (18) 115M (WORLD) 21
Sat 16 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:15 THE APARTMENT (PG) 125M (LEMMON) 39
12:45 YOUNG HEARTS (15) 99M (EURO) 12
15:00 CIELO +Q&A (Adv15) 107M (WORLD) 21
18:15 OSLO TRILOGY: DREAMS (15) 110M (EURO) 14
20:30 THE TASTERS (15) 123M (EURO) 12
Lumiere
10:45 THE LUNCHBOX (PG) 104M (INDIA) 46
13:30 COUNTRY MUSIC ON SCREEN (TALK/COUNTRY FOLK) 100M 59
15:45 NASHVILLE (15) 160M (COUNTRY FOLK) 60
19:00 DYING (15) 180M (EURO) 13
Sun 17 Aug
Main Auditorium
12:00 LEONORA IN THE MORNING LIGHT +Q&A (Adv15) 103M (EURO) 13
14:45 FALLS THE SHADOW (PG) 139M + Q&A (DOCS) 27
18:00 SIGNS OF LIFE +Q&A (15) 88M (UK/USA) 6
20:30 THE LIFE OF CHUCK (15) 111M (UK/USA) 8 Lumiere
10:45 THE ODD COUPLE (PG) 105M (LEMMON) 40 13:00 THE ELEPHANT MAN (PG) 124M (LYNCH) 54
Windmill Cinema 15:00 SOME LIKE IT HOT (PG) 121M (LEMMON) 39 Mon 18 Aug
Main Auditorium
Lumiere
10:45 COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER (PG) 124M (COUNTRY FOLK)
13:45 PERSUASION (PG) 103M (AUSTEN) 49
16:15 A CELEBRATION OF DAVID LYNCH (TALK/LYNCH) 100M
18:30 BLUE VELVET (18) 120M (LYNCH) 55
Windmill Cinema
19:30 THE LIFE OF CHUCK (15) 111M (UK/USA) 8
Tue 19 Aug
Main Auditorium
13:00 THE GOLDEN SPURTLE (AdvPG) 75M (DOCS)
RED PATH (15) 100M (WORLD)
17:45 OSLO TRILOGY: LOVE (15) 119M (EURO) 14
20:30 LITTLE TROUBLE GIRLS (15) 89M (EURO) 18
Lumiere 10:30 EMMA (PG) 120M (AUSTEN)
18:15 LOVE BOAT (Adv15) 96M (EURO) 18 20:15 DIAGNOSIS: DISSENT +Q&A (Adv18) 119M 19
St. John’s Chapel 20:45 SUNRISE with Live Musical Accompaniment (PG) 94M 67
Wed 20 Aug
Main Auditorium
10:45 THE READER (15) 124M (WINSLET) 36
13:30 JANE AUSTEN WRECKED MY LIFE (15) 98M (AUSTEN/EUROPE) 51
16:00 PAUL & PAULETTE TAKE A BATH (15) 109M (UK/USA) 9
18:15 THE FLOOD (15) 101M (EURO) 17 20:30 SHORT FILMS SHOWCASE (15) 120M 68
PAUL & PAULETTE TAKE A BATH
Lumiere
10:30 PATHER PANCHALI (PG) 125M (INDIA) 46 13:00 THIS IS YOUR CAPTAIN SPEAKING + Q&A (AdvPG) 106M (DOCS) 28 15:45 TWO MANY CHEFS (Adv15) 92MFilm, Food & Flamenco Event 20 18:00 JAPANESE AVANT-GARDE PIONEERS (PG) 100M (DOCS) 30
20:15 TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME (15) 134M (LYNCH) 55
Fernleigh 16:00 NEW FILMMAKERS INDUSTRY PANEL 90M 65
Windmill Cinema 19:30 JANE AUSTEN WRECKED
Lumiere
THE TASTERS (15) 123M (EURO)
Fri 22 Aug
Main Auditorium
13:30 DEAF (Adv15) 99M (EURO) 20
15:30 SANTOSH (15) 128M (INDIA) 47
18:15 SURPRISE FILM (15) (SPEC. EVENTS) 69
20:30 OSLO TRILOGY: SEX (15) 118M (EURO) 15
Lumiere
10:30 HONEYSUCKLE ROSE (PG) 119M (COUNTRY FOLK) 61
13:15 OUR JOURNEY WITH LOBULAR CANCER + Q&A (15) 88M (DOCS) 28
16:00 THE DRESSMAKER (15) 119M (WINSLET) 37
Windmill Cinema
19:30 SORRY, BABY (15) 103M (UK/US) 7
Sat 23 Aug
Main Auditorium
11:00 AMMONITE (15) 117M (WINSLET) 37
13:45 THE FLOOD (15) 101M (EURO) 17
16:15 BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN PLUS PET SHOP BOYS SCORE (U) 73M (SPEC EV) 67
18:00 PAUL & PAULETTE TAKE A BATH (15) 109M (UK/USA) 9 20:15 MULHOLLAND DRIVE (15) 147M (LYNCH) 56
JACK LEMMON ON SCREEN (TALK/LEMMON) 100M 41
DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES
Sun 24 Aug
Main Auditorium
CARAVAGGIO +Q&A (PG) 90M (DOCS)
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 phone, 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 together with a stamped, self-addressed envelope if you would like your tickets sent out to you. Or if you prefer, just come in and see us at the Box Office to book your tickets.
TICKET PRICES
£11.00 Auditorium & Lumiere Screenings
£8.00 Talks
Special Events as individually priced
£4.50 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.)
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.
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
Volunteers Coordinator & Box Office
Assistant: Eleanor Witcomb
Senior Projectionist: Jim Stokes
Box Office Assistant and Projectionist: Paul Gainford
Box Office Assistants: Dora Romo Castillejo & Cameron Sherwell
Hospitality & Guest Relations: Carol Godsmark
Accountant: Eva Busquier Zarzosa
Relief Projectionists: Andrew Bradley & Paul Stanley
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 Claire Dakin, Trustees Anne-Marie Flynn, Roger Gibson, Patrick Hargood, Lynton Morgan
Education: Patrick Harwood, Maggie Andrews, Brian Baker, Michael Cox, David Coxon, Rosemary Coxon, Carol Godsmark, Sandy Guthrie, John Harte, Mike Jennings, Nick Johnston-Jones, Lynn Keltie, Linda Marsh, Theo Rogier, Andrew Vance
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS 31
AICHA 22
ALL ABOUT MARKETING AND MIRACLES 68
ALL WE HAVE 68
ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT 47 AMMONITE 37 AND THAT’S FOR THIS CHRISTMAS 68
THE APARTMENT 39
THE ART OF NOTHING 11
BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN (PET SHOP BOYS SCORE) 67
BEYOND BOLLYWOOD: INDIA’S DRAMATIC CANVAS 44
BLUE VELVET 55
BOB MARLEY: ONE LOVE 65
BRIDGET JONES: MAD ABOUT THE BOY 64 CACTUS PEARS 45
CARAVAGGIO 32 A CELEBRATION OF DAVID LYNCH TALK 54 CIELO 21
COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER 61 THE COLOUR OF POMEGRANATES 26
COUNTRY FOLK 58
COUNTRY MUSIC ON SCREEN TALK 59 THE COURAGEOUS 19
CRAZY HEART 59
THE CREATURE FROM THE BAG LAGOON 68 DAIRY 68
DAVID LYNCH: THE ART OF LIFE 53
DAVID LYNCH: WEIRD, WILD AND WONDERFUL WORLDS 52 DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES 41 DEAF 20
DIAGNOSIS: DISSENT 19
DRACULA THE SEDUCER
THE EXTRAORDINARY MISS
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 Wednesday 23rd July 2025. General Public bookings from Saturday 26th July 2025.
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!
