'Artistic Director's Introduction '

Welcome to our Birthday Celebration!

We have made it to our 20th birthday! Despite the continuing recession and its inevitable consequences of reduced funding and sponsorship, it is still our commitment to bring to Chichester the best of world cinema, to celebrate imagination, originality, and diversity across film in all its forms. For our 20th anniversary we present our most ambitious programme yet, expanding to over 100 films from 20 different countries, and using the extra facilities of Priory Park for two open air screenings, a larger programme at Cineworld Chichester, and a more extensive Studio programme, plus a wide range of visiting filmmakers and speakers to interact and engage with our audiences and encourage discussion.

With half of the programme devoted to premieres, previews and a few new releases, we have a particularly strong selection of UK previews including 2 new films from David Mackenzie (You Instead, Perfect Sense), and John Madden’s new espionage thriller The Debt, starring Helen Mirren, and Neil MacCormick’s  charming Albatross. We hope to welcome the directors to introduce their films. This year we have the largest selection of European cinema, with 16 previews or premieres including direct from its Cannes success the eagerly awaited new Pedro Almodóvar film The Skin I live In, starring Antonio Banderas. Most of these films will have their only screenings in the Festival, and to help patrons in choosing their films, we have indicated an “unlikely to return” symbol against those films, and help you discover some unknown gems. We are also introducing a new strand into the Festival with the screening of Unreleased films in the UK. With over 400 films released per annum theatrically in the UK, it is not surprising to see a great number of films not getting distribution. However it is extraordinary that the 6 films by Woody Allen, Bertrand Tavernier, Spike Lee and Nikita Mikhalkov to be screened in our section, which were shown at World renowned Festivals, have not been given even limited screenings in the UK. Maybe these films are not masterpieces, but even a lesser work by Woody is worth seeing against much of the dross that does get released.

We continue our commitment to local partnerships, with a film programme supporting the Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera exhibition at Pallant House Gallery plus an illustrated talk by Laura Mulvey (showing her film Frida and Tina Modotto). To compliment Chichester Festival Theatre’s Rattigan Season, we are mounting an ambitious 14 film selection of his screen work, supported by an illustrated talk by Rattigan expert Michael Darlow, and an introduction to The Browning Version (1951) by David Hare. With the presence of the distinguished actor Sir Ian McKellen at the Theatre, there will be 4 of his best films shown, including Richard III.  Cineworld, Chichester will again host a selection of horror/fantasy films, and this year we are delighted to also be in partnership with Film 4 FrightFest, London’s premier Horror Festival, and will present 5 of their best preview movies.

Anniversaries abound (apart from ours), and we celebrate the 50th of West Side Story and special 50th anniversary programme on The Avengers. Rattigan and Mahler have centenaries, and we are delighted to welcome back Ken Russell to introduce his famous Mahler (1974) film, with Jeremy Barham, Mahler expert, giving an illustrated talk on the use of Mahler’s music on film, including Visconti’s ravishing Death in Venice (1971). Dirk Bogarde starred in that film, and we also commemorate Dirk’s work with 3 other films and an illustrated talk Bogarde Remembered given by nephew Brock Van den Bogaerde  and Bogarde biographer John Coldstream. Tributes are given to the late Claude Chabrol with 8 of his finest films including a preview of his last film Inspector Bellamy starring Gerard Depardieu, and sadly the late Pete Postlethwaite, featuring 4 of his best films including Brassed Off (1996) and an illustrated talk by Michael Coveney.

Finally we are thrilled to welcome back Michael Winner to entertain us with Michael Winner: My life in the Movies a guaranteed evening of wonderfully entertaining anecdotes. Once again we hope to offer you 18 days of cinematic highlights, stimulating, entertaining, enlightening, and sometimes challenging works. As I write this introduction there are several films still be announced or confirmed, so please check with box office and website for updates/changes. Don’t forget to vote for the new films, and I recommend you book for the surprise film - this will be a “winner” of a different order!

This ambitious event could not be staged without the support of our sponsors: Seawards and the University of Chichester plus the many of you who have gifted £20 (or more) in the 20@20 scheme. A special thank you to Screen South (thank you Graham Benson) and the BFI Transition Fund. My thanks to Walter Francisco, Projectionists, Box Office Staff and volunteer stewards as well as Carol Godsmark and the New Park Centre.

Happy Birthday! And 3 cheers to the Chichester International Film Festival

Roger Gibson July 2011

JUNE 2011 PRESS RELEASE

The 20th Chichester International Film Festival

Thursday 18th August to Sunday 4th September 2011


This August will mark the 20th Chichester International Film Festival, the biggest and most prestigious of its kind on the South Coast. Running from August 18 to September 4, the festival promises to bring cinema enthusiasts 18 days plus two separate pre-festival open air screenings crammed with premieres, special events and a shoalful of guests to celebrate the festival's 20th anniversary.

Over the last five years past premieres – English or UK firsts – previews, and new releases at the festival have included The Illusionist, Made in Dagenham, Cyrus, Dog Pound, The Maid, Alamar, Conversations with My Gardener, Ben X, Tamara Drewe, L'Affaire Farewell, Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, Dorian Gray, Atonement, The Duchess, The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, I've Loved you so Long, The Wave and many others including Mike Leigh's masterful Topsy Turvy.

Roger Gibson, Chichester International Festival's artistic director, screened 93 films at last year's event, over half being premieres, previews and new releases. Audiences, up by an impressive 20%, were treated to 136 screenings, six illustrated talks and 40 previews. Opening last year's film festival, Screen South Chairman Graham Benson declared that it was 'yet another action packed and bejewelled Chichester International Film Festival.'

This year's film festival will include exciting previews, premieres and new releases and the opening and closing Galas,

Plus:

Focus on the Documentary : Treasured from the Archives/ Classic Revivals; Talks: Discussions; Visiting Film-makers.


Retrospectives on:

Terence Rattigan, including David Hare introducing The Browning Version (1951) with Michael Redgrave, and an illustrated talk on Rattigan's films by his biographer Michael Darlow, who also introduces Journey Together (1944).

*A short selection of the films of Sir Ian McKellen, including Richard III (1995) and Gods and Monsters (1998).

*Tributes to the late Claude Chabrol (1930-2010), including a preview of his last film Bellamy (2010), starring Gerard Depardieu, and Pete Postlethwaite with an illustrated talk by Michael Coveney.

Mahler's Centenary with Ken Russell introducing his Mahler (1974), John Coldstream (Dirk Bogarde's biographer), introducing Visconti's Death in Venice (1971); Jeremy Barnham's (Lecturer in Music) illustrated talk on Mahler in Film, and UK premiere of Mahler on the Couch (Percy and Felix Aldon, 2010)

*Dirk Bogarde's 90th commemoration (1921-1999) with an illustrated talk by Brock Van Den Bogaerde and John Coldstream - films include Victim (1961), King and Country (1964), The Servant (1963).


Partnerships with:

*Pallant House Gallery with Frida and Diego - complementing the exhibition with related films on Jacques Gelman, (Cantiflas films), Eisenstein's Battleship Potemkin (1925), Thunder over Mexico (1933), Frida (plus talk by Laura Mulvey) (2002) and an illustrated talk on Film, Art and Politics by Ian Christie, Professor of film.

*Horrors at the Multiplex: The best of Fright Fest (5 horror films).

*50th anniversary of The Avengers, introduced by Roger Marshall, in conjunction with University of Chichester.

*Open Air all digital film screenings at Priory Park: Bizet's Carmen (Covent Garden - 2007) and 50th anniversary preview of the restored West Side Story (1961).


Over the last 20 years the festival has screened a range of global cinema that is wide and extraordinary – biopics, dramas, horror, comedies, documentaries – some of which have their first screenings at the cinema outside of Cannes, Berlin and Edinburgh. Last year retrospectives included works by Kurosawa and Jack Cardiff, archival material also part of the mix.

Guest artists and speakers, onstage and off, that have visited the premier South Coast film festival have included Alec Guinness, Mike Leigh, Phil Davis, Mike Figgis, David Hare, Stephen Poliakoff, Greta Scacchi, Corin Redgrave, Kathleen Turner, Tony Palmer, Derek Malcolm, Nick Moran, Ken Russell, Simon Callow and documentary maker Craig McCall.

Roger Gibson said about the festival, 'Last year's festival was our biggest and most ambitious festival to date with many gratifying compliments about the range and variety of the programme. Despite recession and the inevitable reduction in funding and sponsorship, we bring to Chichester and the South Coast the very best in world cinema, to celebrate imagination, originality and diversity. With the festival celebrating its 20th anniversary this year's programme promises to be as equally ambitious and exciting.'