Chichester Cinema brings film and local environmental action together for its biggest-ever A Greener Screen
21 films, workshops, talks and a host of local environmental organisations come together for Chichester Cinemas most ambitious environmental season yet
A Greener Screen at Chichester Cinema returns from 28 August 15 October 2026 with an exciting line-up of environmental films, local organisations, childrens workshops and talks.
The programme will explore some of the biggest environmental challenges facing the planet, while shining a light on the people and projects working to protect and restore the natural world much closer to home.
From documentaries exploring climate change and human impact to films celebrating the beauty and resilience of landscapes and wildlife, A Greener Screen will bring together an extraordinary range of filmmaking from around the world.
But what makes the inaugural programme particularly distinctive is its focus on local action.
Chichester Cinema has reached deep into its local community to collaborate with organisations and individuals already working to make a difference, including The Final Straw, Surfers Against Sewage, Transition Town Chichester, Tuppenny Barn, Barfoots, Solent Seascape Project, Brent Lodge Wildlife Hospital, Woodhorn Farm, Goodwood Education Trust, On Tap Collective, The Soil Association and Beaver Trust.
The partnerships will connect the global issues explored on screen with practical work happening across Chichester, Sussex and the Solent.
The result is a programme designed not simply to inform and entertain, but to connect audiences with the people already taking action on their doorstep.
Anne-Marie Flynn, Executive Director at Chichester Cinema, said:
With temperatures soaring globally and wildfires destroying biodiversity and ravaging countrysides all over the world, we felt we needed to up our game.
There is some extraordinary filmmaking going on out there and we are proud to be sharing it films from all over the world which celebrate the beauty of our landscapes alongside hard-hitting documentaries about the effects of man-made damage and climate change.
But this is also a programme about optimism. This is the first time we have really reached out into our local community to work alongside the organisations already doing incredible things.
There are people here in Sussex and around the Solent who are tackling plastic pollution, protecting our seas, restoring habitats, changing the way we grow and produce food and finding ways to help nature recover. We wanted to give them a platform alongside the films.
We hope A Greener Screen will encourage people to look differently at the world around them but also to discover that there are positive things happening locally and that they can be part of them.
Sue Gilson and Debbie Carter of Transition Town Chichester, commented:
"When we approached Chichester Cinema four years ago with the notion of an eco film festival, we never imagined it would flourish into such an expansive, inspiring and informative annual event. We are so grateful to the cinema for being so supportive, enthusiastic and full of ideas right from the start. They share our belief that film is a brilliant medium for getting environmental messages across in a powerful way to thought-provoke, inspire change and call to action. It has been a very fruitful and happy partnership and long may it continue."
Film, food, farming and the next generation
A Greener Screen will also look at our relationship with food and the land.
A special talk on the Farmer Drama on film will explore the ways farmers and farming have been represented on screen, opening up wider questions about agriculture, landscape and our relationship with where food comes from.
There will also be family films with themes of farming and climate change as well as hands-on workshops that introduce younger audiences to these topics through creative and practical activities, helping to make the programme a conversation for the whole community.
Kim Barfoot-Brace of Barfoots commented:
At Barfoots we are driven by our founder Peter Barfoots philosophy to Look after the land like you are going to farm forever. We make sustainability a part of every decision…what we grow, where we grow it, how we manage soil, water and biodiversity, how we use energy, how we reduce waste, and how we work with customers and communities. We are extremely proud to support the Greener Screen initiative that helps raise awareness of the environmental challenges we face and inspire positive change.
Lorna Shone, Centre Manager at Tuppenny Barn, added:
Tuppenny Barn is delighted to be a part of the Greener Screen programme at Chichester Cinema. Focusing on sustainable farming and the natural world has never been more important. Our overriding aim has always been to educate children and adults about the importance of nature and organic food and how the two go hand in hand. Bravo Chichester Cinema for shining a light on this hugely significant subject.
A new kind of cinema experience
Chichester Cinema has been at the heart of the citys cultural and community life for more than 40 years, having begun in 1979 and developing into an independent cinema known for its world and independent film programme.
With A Greener Screen, the cinema is taking that community role in a new direction using the power of film to bring together audiences and the organisations working for positive environmental change.
Louise MacCallum, Solent Project Manager at Blue Marine Foundation, commented:
The Solent Seascape Project is excited to be taking part in A Greener Screen. We work hard to create films that bring our pioneering wildlife restoration work in the Solent to life, and it is hugely exciting to be able to share our work with a brand new audience on the silver screen!
The programme is expected to be one of the largest environmentally themed cinema programmes on the South Coast. More importantly, it marks the beginning of what Chichester Cinema hopes will become an annual opportunity for filmmakers, environmental organisations and the local community to come together.
Anne-Marie Flynn added:
This is just the beginning. We have been amazed by the enthusiasm of the organisations we have approached and by the range of incredible work happening locally.
We want A Greener Screen to grow each year - bringing more films, more organisations and more people into the conversation. If this years programme can help one person discover a project they want to support, a new way of thinking about an issue, or simply a greater appreciation of the natural world around them, then it will have achieved something worthwhile.
A Greener Screen runs at Chichester Cinema from 28 Aug 15 Oct 2026. Films featured include:
Our Land 29 Aug at 13:00, 3 Sept at 13:15
The North 30 Aug at 13:15, 2 Sept at 20:00
Lost For Words 1 Sept at 18:00
Underland 31 Aug at 18:00, 5 Sept at 15:45
Supernature 19 Sept at 15:45
Time & Water 20 Sept at 18:00
The Shepherd and The Bear 6 Sept at 12:45
Ellis Park 7 Sept at 18:00
The Tale of Silyan - 10 Sept at 18:00
Balancing the Scales - 29 Aug at 11:45
Night Moves - 14 Sept at 17:45
Woman Grows Jeans - 26 Sept at 15:00
How Deep is your Love - 3 Oct at 12:15, 7 Oct at 15:45
Jo in the Water - 11 Sept at 18:00
Trade Secret - 25 Set at 18:00
Food for Profit - 8 Oct at 18:00
Arco - 12 Sept at 12:30 + workshop
Shaun the Sheep: The Monster of Mossy Bottom - daily from 2 Oct 8 Oct
CineMini workshops for the 2-5s on12 Sept at 10:00 and 11:45
Rainbow kaleidoscope-making workshop for the age 6+ on 12 Sept at 15:00
Talk on The Farmer Drama - 19 Sept at 10:30
Minari - 21 Set at 18:00
Alcarras - 6 Oct at 18:00
Derek versus Derek - 10 Oct at 15:15, 15 Oct at 18:00
For the full programme and tickets, visit https://chichestercinema.org/