A truffle hunter who lives alone in the Oregonian wilderness must return to his past in Portland in search of his beloved foraging pig after she is kidnapped.

Put aside any thoughts of an eye-bulging, tendon bursting Nicolas Cage performance and revel in his restrained, intuitively measured portrait of a lost man rediscovering forgotten facets of himself. This is one of the most surprising films of the year that blends revenge fable with foodie travelogue as a pensive and broody Cage attempts to recover his porcine friend. It shouldn’t work but it really does and there is even online chatter about Cage receiving his first Oscar nomination since 2002’s ‘Adaptation’. Nicolas Cage’s new film could have been a train wreck. Instead, it’s a masterpiece.’ (The Independent)

UK 2021 Michael Samoski 92m

Four friends recreate an inter-rail journey across Europe they did in their youth to fulfil their friend’s dying wish. And this

time 18-year-old Maddie takes her

mother’s place.

Three 50-something women (Kelly Preston, Jenny Seagrove and Sally Phillips) set out to repeat the European inter-railing adven¬tures of their youth, after their close friend passes away leaving them rail tickets, and a final request: to take her teenage daughter (Elizabeth Dormer-Phillips) with them. With lost passports, train strikes and romantic entanglements thrown in their way, they must put old feuds aside to complete the journey within five days and remind themselves that they are still at their peak. Also stars Franco Nero, Judi Dench and Ben Miller.

US 2021 Jules Williamson 89m

Ich Bin Dein Mensch

Alma, a scientist, is to live with a humanoid robot, created to make her happy in Maria Schrader’s immensely enjoyable picture.

Alma (Maren Eggert) is a scientist at the famous Pergamon Museum in Berlin. In order to obtain research funds for her work, she is persuaded to participate in an extraordinary study. For three weeks, she has to live with a humanoid robot (Dan Stevens) tailored to her character and needs, whose artificial intelligence is designed to be the perfect life partner for her. When the odd couple begins to cohabit, the robot is a catalyst for self-reflection and self-doubt in this comedy-drama that’s as thought-provoking as it is funny. A comic-tragic tale about the questions of love, longing and what makes a human being human, this is a sensationally funny and gentle science-fictional German rom-com. (Subtitles)

Germany 2020 Maria Schrader 105m

Life for an entrepreneur and his American family begins to take a twisted turn after moving into an English country manor. A beautifully understated film starring Jude Law and Carrie Coon.

Rory (Jude Law) is an ambitious entrepreneur who brings his American wife (Carrie Coon) and kids to his native country, England, to explore new business opportunities, with dreams of profiting from booming 1980’s London. After abandoning the sanctuary of their safe American suburban surroundings, the family is plunged into the despair of an archaic 1980’s Britain and their unaffordable new life in an English manor house threatens to destroy the family. What makes Durkin's vision so powerfully unsettling is its ease with ambiguity, its ability to make cruelty and tenderness seem like flip sides of the same human coin.

UK/Canada 2020 Sean Durkin 107m

A woman discovers a shocking secret after the unexpected death of her husband in this moving drama from a first-time director to watch.

The White Cliffs of Dover, an enduring symbol of British nationalism, take on a different meaning here. For Mary Hussein (Joanna Scanlan), their crumbling chalk façade represents her identity and sense of self, eroding away and growing ever distant. Mary is a British Muslim convert who is happily married to Ahmed (Nasser Memarzia), and fully integrated into his culture. When Ahmed dies suddenly Mary is devastated. She soon discovers that he had a secret family just across the Channel. Unable to go on without fully knowing the truth about the man she adored, she travels to Calais leaving the collapsing cliffs in her wake. Anchored by a phenomenal performance by Scanlan, this is an accomplished debut from writer and d irector Aleem Khan which employs elegant, mirrored scenes and repetition to explore the threads that link the two women.

UK 2020 Aleem Khan 89m

A stand-up comedian (Adam Driver) and his opera singer wife (Marion Cotillard), have a 2-year-old daughter with a surprising gift.

Los Angeles, nowadays. Henry is a stand-up comedian with a fierce humour. Ann, an internationally renowned opera singer. Together, under the spotlight, they form a happy and glamorous couple. The birth of their first child, Annette, a mysterious girl with an exceptional destiny, will turn their lives upside down. A dreamy, delicate dance between farce and fantasia, Annette is a magnificently ludicrous rock opera whose experimental approach to its emotional extremes is an ambitious, if not peculiar, return for director Leos Carax. Story & music by Ron & Russell Mael of Sparks, this original musical is a journey of love, passion & fame. Selected as the opening night of Leos Carax's musical extravaganza for the 2021 Cannes Film Festival in July.

France 2021 Leos Carax 139m

Aretha Franklin sings in her father's church choir as a child and grows up to become an international musical superstar and legend.

The film charts Aretha’s life and career – with Forest Whitaker, Marlon Wayans, Audra McDonald and Mary J Blige all in the supporting cast. Tommy and writer Tracey Scott Wilson are making their cinematic debuts with this splendid retelling of Franklin’s early life and career. However, they come to the project with impressive stage backgrounds, which inform every aspect of their approach. Any stage, of course, needs a star who can command the space. That the story intermittently recedes into the background might be problematic, were it not for the fact that the spotlight remains resolutely focused on a captivating Jennifer Hudson, who was chosen for the role by Franklin herself, before she passed away in 2018.

Canada/US 2021 Liesl Tommy 145m

In 1990s Scotland, a group of Catholic school girls get an opportunity to go into Edinburgh for a choir competition, but they are more interested in drinking, partying and “hooking up” than winning the competition.

In a desolate Highlands town, opportunities for Orla (Tallulah Greive), Finoula (Abigail Lawrie), Amanda (Sally Messham) and their gang don’t extend far beyond a job at the local Woolies or getting knocked up on the local housing estate. But it’s 1996 and optimism is in the air. The choir are off to the capital to perform in a singing competition where they can sneak off to shop, smoke and do shots – if they can dress old enough to get served. ‘Our Ladies’ brings poignancy and laughs while offering a nostalgic celebration of sisterhood. If you like BBC4’s ‘Derry Girls’, then you will love this.

UK 2019 Michael Caton-Jones 105m

Joseph Losey's The Servant hasn't lost any of its mystery over the years since 1963; it might even have gained a bit.

Tony (James Fox), a British aristocrat, hires the mysterious Hugo Barrett (Dirk Bogarde) as his household servant. The new employee soon begins to cause unrest in the household, and Tony is forced to send him away. But Barrett's influence extends further than Tony realizes, and he finds himself entangled in an intense psychological war with his former valet. Servant and master square off in a battle that redefines each man's understanding of fear, desire and class. The Servant summons up all one's irrational fears and its baroquely sinister atmosphere invests the most ordinary event with middle-of-the-night creepiness. Losey does masterly work in confined spaces while Bogarde is brilliant as usual.

UK 1963 Joseph Losey

This event was filmed at the National Theatre earlier this year and will be released in cinemas in 4K for one night only on Tuesday 28 September 2021. The film premiered on Sky Arts in April 2021 receiving critical acclaim and significant audience demand for the title and will now be released in cinemas for the first time.

Romeo and Juliet risk everything to be together. In defiance of their feuding families, they chase a future of joy and passion as violence erupts around them. This critically acclaimed bold new film brings to life the remarkable backstage spaces of the National Theatre in which desire, dreams and destiny collide to make Shakespeare’s romantic tragedy sing in an entirely new way.

Jessie Buckley (Wild Rose, Judy) and Josh O’Connor (The Crown, God’s Own Country) play Juliet and Romeo. The award-winning cast includes Tamsin Greig, Fisayo Akinade, Adrian Lester, Lucian Msamati and Deborah Findlay.  

 Running time 100mins no interval  

What did you think about ‘Nomadland’? Was it a bore, or was it a moving dreamscape?

Did you dig 'The Dig', ‘the story of kindred spirits’ as actor Ralph Fiennes described it? Or not?

Now that Autumn has arrived, CineCircle returns but in a different place than the Hornet Alehouse.

Wagtail Café owner Laurel is delighted to welcome you to her café next door to Carluccio's in Church Square for a glass of wine, beer, cider, mead or hot drink... but above all, come for a chat about film.

From 18:00 to 19:00 on Thu 30 Sep.

TICKETS ARE FREE, but bookings are essential as we have limited numbers.

Wagtail Cafe

Gordon House, 1C-1D,

Church Square,

Chichester PO19 7BD

A downtrodden man (Joe Pantoliano) experiences an ethical crisis and travels back to his hometown in rural Italy to recalibrate his moral compass.

In a rare leading role, Joe Pantoliano stars as Marco Gentile, an Italian born CEO of a Canadian automobile company. He is at a crossroads in his life. Tired of the grind and troubled by an unkept promise he made years ago; he throws it all away. Without consulting his wife Marina he quits his high-paying job and hopes to reconnect to a way of life that will help him find his centre and regain his moral compass. ‘From the Vine’ breathes the same fragrant air as ‘Under the Tuscan Sun,’ ‘A Good Year’ and any number of other movies that offer up beautiful scenery and a stripped-down way of life as a tonic for the soul. (Some subtitles)

Italy / Canada 2020 Sean Cisterna 97m

A young mother escapes her abusive husband and fights back against a broken housing system. She sets out to build her own home and in the process rebuilds her life and re-discovers herself.

Sensitively directed by Phyllida Lloyd and brought to life by co-writer Clare Dunne's starring performance, ‘Herself’ charts one woman's journey with empathy and grace. Using all her ingenuity to make her ambitious dream a reality, Sandra draws together a community to lend a helping hand to build her house and ultimately recover her own sense of self. It's filled with touching scenes that reflect a mother's resilient devotion to her children as she strives to shape a better life. The script is smart enough to avoid the usual feelgood cliches and sentimental flourishes. Claire Dunne’s performance as the beleaguered mother is grittily authentic.

UK 2020 Phyllida Lloyd 97m

The story of the pre-war boxing champion Tadeusz "Teddy" Pietrzykowski, who in 1940 arrives with the first transport of prisoners to the newly created Auschwitz concentration camp.

Before the war, Teddy was the bantamweight vice-champion of Poland and a champion in his hometown of Warsaw. Captured and sent to the notorious concentration camp, his boxing talent gains interest from the German officers. During his 3-year imprisonment in the camp, Tadeusz “Teddy” Pietrzykowski fought over 40 victorious duels, becoming a symbol of hope for victory over Nazi terror. However, beating up Germans and collaborators in the ring has its own repercussions. This extraordinary true story is told with all the grit and determination Teddy exhibits in his fights. Director Maciej Barczewski handles things with commendable restraint. (subtitles)

Poland 2020 Maciej Barczewski 91m

An illustrated talk by Patrick Hargood, Deputy Education Officer at Chichester Cinema, to mark the 250th anniversary of the birth of Beethoven (postponed from last year), which will explore the ways in which the composer’s music has been used in films.

From Disney’s 'Fantasia' to Kubrick’s 'A Clockwork Orange', a diverse range of filmmakers has used the music of Beethoven for a variety of purposes, most commonly inside the narrative, as when Alex in Kubrick’s film plays his LP of the Ninth Symphony, or when Bette Davis plays the Appassionata Sonata in 'Deception', but also occasionally to create a mood, such as Peter Weir’s use of the 'Emperor Piano Concerto' in Picnic at Hanging Rock.

There have also been several notable biopics, including 'Immortal Beloved' with Gary Oldman and 'Copying Beethoven' with Ed Harris. Using a range of clips, I will be exploring how these pinnacles of early 19th Century European culture have been incorporated into a very different cultural context - the cinema of the 20th and 21st centuries.

A fitting homage - or enough to make Beethoven roll over?

Tickets £6.50 (Friends £5)

The Lost Leonardo tells the inside story behind the Salvator Mundi, the most expensive painting ever sold at $450 million, claimed to be a long-lost masterpiece by Leonardo da Vinci.

From the moment it is purchased from a shady New Orleans auction house, and its buyers discover masterful brushstrokes beneath its cheap restoration, the fate of the Salvator Mundi is driven by an insatiable quest for fame, money and power. But as its price soars, so do questions about its authenticity. Is this multi-million dollar painting actually by Leonardo -- or do certain power players simply want it to be? Unravelling the hidden agendas of the world's richest men and most powerful art institutions, THE LOST LEONARDO reveals how vested interests became all-important, and the truth secondary. This documentary plays like a thriller and a riveting one at that.

Denmark/France 2021 Andreas Koefoed 96m

A wealthy young woman (Betty Davis) escapes her tyrannical mother to fall hopelessly in love in this magnificent Hollywood melodrama

Prepare to be swept away by an emotional tsunami. Charlotte Vale, a young woman from a wealthy Boston family who is bullied by her domineering widowed mother. Under this tyranny, Charlotte has become a tearful, frumpy, bespectacled spinster with unplucked eyebrows, who lives at home. Her sister saves her from a nervous breakdown by sending her to a sanatorium run by the kindly Dr Jaquith (Claude Rains). Davis’s transformation into an elegant, beautiful woman is one of Hollywood’s iconic moments and her frustrating relationship with architect Jerry Durrance one of its most moving. ‘Davis’s performance is at once spiky and angular and yet also soft, sensual and vulnerable. This film is exquisitely crafted and passionately acted.’ The Guardian

US 1942 Irving Rapper 117

John Parker, a 19-year-old from Manchester embarks on a journey to Brighton on an old Lambretta scooter carrying his father’s ashes.

John’s father has died in an accident leaving not much behind  but his dented Lambretta. John decides to transport his father’s ashes to the spiritual home of the Mods in Brighton. Along the way he faces many trials, discovers family secrets and generally gets more than he bargained for. This gentle comedy pays homage to all things Mod from the scooter, the fashion as well as the fantastic punchy soundtrack dominated by songs by The Jam. The Pebble and the Boy is a British road movie with a big heart and a nice balance of comedy and drama.

UK 2021 Chris Green 105m

Described by Salzburger Nachricten as “Opera as Great Romantic Cinema”, the two operas, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci brought record attendances to the Salzburg Easter Festival. Jonas Kaufmann in his debut performances as both Turiddu and Canio, was “stellar” (Daily Telegraph) and sang “both parts so lyrically, with such italianità, mellow with impeccable highs… a pure delight” (Kurier).

The scene is set by film and opera director Philipp Stölzl, whose fascinating vision brings these popular operas to new heights. Stölzl divides the stage into several levels, staging crowd scenes below with the more intimate action going on above – the latter projected with filmic close-ups – doubling and tripling the action. This production, insists Kurier, “simply must be described as world-class”. “Thrilling” concludes the Telegraph.

Conductor Christian Thielemann                                           Director Philipp Stölzl

Cast Cavalleria: Jonas Kaufmann | Annalisa Stroppa | Ambrogio Maestri - Pagliacci: Jonas Kaufmann | Maria Agresta | Tansel Akzeybek                          

Sung in Italian with English subtitles.

176m

Tickets £17.50

Wildfire is the story of two sisters who grew up on the fractious Irish border.  When one of them, who has been missing, finally returns home, the intense bond with her sister is re-ignited.

Two powerhouse performances by Nora-Jane Noone and Nika McGuigan as the siblings light up this cracking tale of family intrigue. Inseparable sisters raised in a small town on the Irish border, Lauren and Kelly’s lives were shattered with the mysterious death of their mother. Left to pick up the pieces after her sister abruptly disappeared, Lauren is suddenly confronted with the family’s dark and traumatic past when Kelly returns home after being reported missing for a whole year. With the intense sisterhood reignited, Kelly’s desire to unearth their history is not welcomed by all in the small town, as rumours and malice spread like wildfire, threatening to push them over the edge.

Ireland 2020 Cathy Brady 85m

Films which influenced public opinion and the law

The event will be led by Rosemary Coxon and the Cinema Education Team and, to assist with the delivery of the programme, we welcome as guests: law students from Bishop Luffa school and the University of Chichester, representatives from Stonepillow and local law firms, and John Coldstream, the official biographer of Dirk Bogarde – the star of the film 'Victim'.

These guests will play an active part in the programme.

We welcome audience participation and we will finish with a brief Q&A at the close of the event

We will look in detail at clips from two films which were outstanding in their day for bravely and  explicitly tackling the laws of the time and influencing public opinion.

These films are:

'Victim' (1961) - Director Basil Dearden

This film was a landmark in the history of cinema and British society. It fearlessly tackled the existing law governing homosexual offences and, by doing so, eased the path towards partial decriminalisation of homosexuality in 1967. It was also marks a brave decision on the part of the star of the film, Dirk Bogarde, who shed his matinee idol image to take on the main part in the film – a barrister with the thriving career who is being blackmailed because of his personal life.

'Cathy Come Home' (1966) - Director Ken Loach

Controversial, moving and brilliantly acted – this film is arguably the most influential TV drama ever broadcast. Watched by 10 million people the film provoked major public and political discussion and was instrumental in the foundation of the charities 'Shelter' and 'Crisis'. The film tells the story of Reg and Cathy a couple with 3 young children whose lives are spiralling into poverty. Gripping and emotional, it remains a truly ground breaking film, engaging viewers with social issues which changed the law such as the right of families to stay together and mothers to keep their children.

10am to 2.30pm with short breaks and a lunch break.

Admission free – all welcome.

Come and join us for this special rescheduled event which will feature a Surprise Film with special guests, and a short drinks & nibbles party afterwards in the Jubilee Hall, as we thank our ex Front of House Manager Henry Beltran for his decade of dedicated work at Chichester Cinema at New Park.

Henry retired in April 2020 after 10 years of unforgettable service to Chichester Cinema at New Park, and all it stands for. He had been an absolute treasure and is missed by us all. Henry has asked that all the profits raised from this event to be donated to the Parents and Carers Support Organization (PACSO), a partner organization of ours which enables children (and carers) who would normally not be able to go to a cinema, enjoy this experience that we all take for granted. 160m

“I have much appreciated the goodwill messages received from many Patrons on the occasion of my coming departure from New Park Cinema. Over the years I have been delighted to enjoy New Park Cinema’s collective DNA that is made up of kindness, loyalty and an outstanding commitment to the celebration of the Art of Cinema on the part of patrons and members of the staff. It has been a privilege for me to be able to share this with you all and I remain in your debt. - Henry Beltran (Feb 2020).

Page to Screen:

To mark Black History Month, an illustrated talk by the Chichester Cinema Education Team, which will look at the TV adaptations of two novels by each of these British-Jamaican authors.

Andrea Levy, born in London to Jamaican parents, her father having crossed on the Windrush, died in 2019 at the age of 62, leaving behind two collections of short stories and five novels, including 'Small Island' and 'The Long Song'. The first concerns a Jamaican man who returns to England after WW2, having served in the RAF, while the second is set on a sugar plantation in 19th century Jamaica.

Zadie Smith was also born in London, to a Jamaican mother and an English father, and she is the also the author of five novels, including 'White Teeth', an epic narrative of multicultural post-war England and NW, a tragicomic London story.

As with our previous Page to Screen events, the Education Team will be considering how successfully these stories navigated the transition from the book to the small screen, including a range of clips from each series.

120m

Fri 15 Oct 14:00 - In the Studio

Tickets £6.50 (Friends/Under 25's - £5.00)

We’ve waited long enough for the return of this cinematic behemoth. Rami Malek plays the villain while Daniel Craig straightens his cuffs for the last time.

Bond has left active service and is enjoying a tranquil life in Jamaica. His peace is short-lived when his old friend Felix Leiter from the CIA turns up asking for help. The mission to rescue a kidnapped scientist turns out to be far more treacherous than expected, leading Bond onto the trail of a mysterious villain armed with dangerous new technology. Director Cary Joji Fukunaga takes over the reins from Sam Mendes but don’t expect any genre busting re-invention, instead settle for the splendid locations, stunts, gadgets and glamour. This is precisely what New Park’s new screen and sound system was made for.

UK/USA 2021 Cary Joji Fukunaga 163m

To mark the 100th anniversary of the birth of one of the true greats of the cinema, Bengali director Satyajit Ray, Patrick Hargood, Deputy Education Officer, will be looking back at his extraordinary body of work in a talk featuring a wide range of clips.

‘His work can be regarded as flowing composedly, like a big river.’ Akira Kurosawa

Born into a middle class Bengali family, Satyajit Ray did not attend film school, and was one of the first to make the transition into movies from the world of advertising. He was, however, an avid cinema fan as a young man, and, on a visit to England, watched dozens of films, making notes on the techniques he observed. It is nevertheless a miracle on a par with 'Citizen Kane' that his very first film, 'Pather Panchali', should turn out to be such a masterpiece of realist cinema. His seemingly effortless command of cinematic techniques was evident throughout his subsequent career - not that he wanted you to notice, as he felt that if you did he had failed.

This talk will include a breathtaking range of clips from 'The Apu Trilogy', 'The Music Room', 'Charulata' and many others.

120m

Sat 30 Oct 10:30 - In the Auditorium

Tickets £6.50 (Friends / Under 25's - £5)

We will be screening the film 'Charulata' on Sat 6 Nov 15:00

Special Offer:

Tickets for the film 'Charulata' plus the Satyajit Ray talk - £14 (Friends / Under 25's - £11)

Former journalist Sandy Guthrie of the Cinema Education Team looks back at the portrayal of journalists in the cinema in this illustrated talk, featuring clips from a range of films from the silent era to the present day.

When a character appears in a film with a press pass jammed in his hatband, a notebook in his hand, or a microphone poised to be pushed into someone’s face for a quote, it can mean one of several things. Journalists in films can be crusaders or evil manipulators, or just a useful way of explaining the plot to the audience.

This illustrated talk, led by former journalist Sandy Guthrie, will examine different screen newspaper and magazine writers, as well as broadcasters, throughout the history of cinema, looking at fictional hacks and true-life investigative newsmen and women, and the way they have been portrayed. Films are riddled with them, some comic and some dramatic, some dynamic and some sinister. The writers behind some of these characters will be under the spotlight too. Some of the great journalist characters were created by writers and directors who had first-hand experience of the press from the inside as former journalists.

120m

Fri 12 Nov 18:00 - In the Studio

Tickets £6.50 (Friends / Under 25's - £5)

Professor Simon Barker of the University of Gloucestershire and members of the Chichester Cinema Education Team celebrate the long life and unique artistry of Stephen Sondheim.

Simon Barker, Rosemary Coxon and Patrick Hargood celebrate the long life and unique artistry of Stephen Sondheim. They discuss stage and screen productions of key works and explore Sondheim's sources, his philosophy, and his legacy, showing clips from productions and interviews. Sondheim’s work has been seen as a kind of cultural encyclopaedia for the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries and this event will demonstrate Sondheim’s range and versatility.

It was conceived in relation to the Covid-postponed production of 'Assassins' at Chichester Festival Theatre. Sondheim’s take on the American Presidency seemed particularly relevant in the high days of Trump – but the power of Sondheim’s work is that it never lacks cultural resonance or renewed topicality. In a period of unprecedented cultural anxiety in the USA and beyond, there is no better time to pause and reflect on Sondheim’s creative wisdom.

Sat 20 Nov - in place of first film - in the Auditorium