Chichester International Film Festival

Organised by : Chichester Cinema

https://chichesterfilmfestival.co.uk

The Chichester International Film Festival was launched in 1992 as the representation of the art of film at the Festival of Chichester, a summer programme of the arts in the city. Walter Francisco (pic left) has taken the helm in 2024 as Head of Programming, following 20 years of being the Festival's General Manager, as well as programming the seasonal programmes for Chichester Cinema at New Park.

Roger Gibson (pic right) programmed every edition from the Festival's inception until 2023, and saw the event grow from 29 films in one location, to 150 films in seven locations. These have included open air screenings in Priory Park, classic silent films with live musical accompaniment in the gothic St. John's Chapel, 35mm screenings at Slindon Cinema, special screenings at Chichester Cathedral, and drive-in screenings in the city centre.

Film Directors, Actors, Writers, Composers and Critics have visited over the years and given talks during the Festival, raising both the profile of the event and of course, the quality. These include Sir Alec Guinness, Steven Poliakoff, Kathleen Turner, Ken Russell, Mike Leigh, Kerry Fox, Ronald Harwood, Daniel Brühl, Elaine Paige, Michael Winterbottom, John Lithgow, David Hare, Nick Moran, Derek Jacobi, Virginia MacKenna, Carl Davis, Steve Coogan, Phyllis Logan, Timothy Spall and Ralph Fiennes to name a few.

A 15 day Independent Film Festival which covers previews and premieres of UK, American, European and World Cinema. We present Features, Documentaries, Animations, and particularly indie films from across Europe. We also present a series of Open Air screenings in Priory Park, Chichester.

Half of the programme is new and half is made up of retros, centenaries and tributes. Talks by filmmakers and tutors support strands in Festival. Visiting filmmakers, actors producers, critics, Q&As. Recent Guests: Ralph Fiennes, John Lithgow, Timothy Spall, Phyllis Logan, Daniel Brühl, Elaine Page, Steve Coogan and Michael Radford all introduced their films.

Venues:
New Park Auditorium - 115 capacity
New Park Studio - 40
Picture Palace - 14
Priory Park Open Air Screenings - 1,000
St John's Chapel (silent films with live organ) - 120
Guildhall - 100