Festival Blog by Sue Gilson - Sue's blog will be regularly updated throughout the festival.
 


6th September 2010

Feeling utterly bereft now, of course.

With the final curtain now drawn on the 19th Chichester International Film Festival my days suddenly seem a lot less sparkly.

But what a finale for a phenomenal few weeks at New Park. Everyone who packed into the cinema for the closing gala last night must have left beaming.

Not only was there a mouth-watering pre-film meal this year for the first time at Woodies, the movie picked to send off the festival in style was a delicious one.
A celebration of the 300 women machine workers at the Ford car plant in the late Sixties who walked out over equal pay, Made in Dagenham, starring Sally Hawkins, who was perfect as their shy but feisty spokeswoman, couldn't fail to rouse and entertain.

The film's screenplay writer Billy Ivory introduced the film which he felt was a great one, and an important one.

He seemed genuinely thrilled to be at New Park, and said he reckoned it was the loveliness cinema he had been in. Well, we think so Billy.

The audience seemed genuinely thrilled, too, to be told by artistic director Roger Gibson that early signs were showing that attendance was up by around 20 per cent. Fantastic news in these austere, troubled times, but not surprising, with movies providing such good value entertainment.

Roger revealed too the audience favourites as voted by you. General manager Walter Francisco will no doubt be sending a top ten email round, so I won't spoil the surprise.
Delighted though that Paradiso and Bird On A Wire tied as top documentary. Both fab.
I have a tip for you too from very reliable sources. If you didn't catch Oscar-winning Argentinian film Secret In Their Eyes, try to sometime soon. It seemed to be the film on discerning lips.

Farewell then film fest, and roll on the next one, and a life a little less ordinary.
 

1st September 2010

Oh, the places you are transported to, the adventures you can have.
Yes, eulogising in a fairly gushy way again, about the incredible films rolled out before us at our excellent film festival.

Sadly it is already the last week, but we will have amazing memories - and new knowledge - to take away.

I now know all about the fascinating lives of cameraman Jack Cardiff, iconic singer songwriter Leonard Cohen and Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, whereas before, to my shame, I knew little.

And talking of Frida, what a vibrant, enthralling film. And that hot Latin passion, those burnished colours and that wonderful magic realism all before lunch on a Wednesday morning in Chichester. Wonderful - although I was chided by our artistic director Roger Gibson, who brings all this celebration in celluloid to our fair city, for not also catching the more authentic, if more demanding, Mexican version of the artist's story, Frida Naturaleza Viva. I will try harder next time, Roger.

Carol Godsmark, the cinema's press and marketing officer, had her own special day and asked: "Where else could you see Ran (Kurosawa's masterpiece), Little Victorian Secrets (an excellent film about miniatures in West Sussex) and Ulysses (James Joyce's unfilmable film) all in one day?"

Well said Carol.

There was much anticipation too for the three Brightwide films - powerful offerings about social and political issues we can all get involved with after the credits roll.
Brightwide, with one of the founders Colin Firth, has been kind to us on its inspiring and informative website too, calling New Park "a beautiful art house cinema supported by volunteers and lovers of quality independent film".

Visit www.brightwide.com and you won't fail to be moved.

 

27th August 2010

Crikey. How exciting.

If you were in for a spot of late summer celeb spotting, New Park was the place to be this week.

And more specifically, for an hour or so on Thursday afternoon.

There, munching on one of our lovely cakes in the bar area after a flight which had left his ears blocked (bit of a problem for his Q&A, he reckoned, but I am sure he coped admirably) was veteran film critic Derek Malcolm, required reading on The Guardian for two decades.

Then in popped one of our best known actors of the stage and screen, Phil Davis, who had presumably hot-footed it over from the CFT where he is playing the gruff Alfred Doolittle in Pygmalion. And I am pretty sure it was elegant actress Una Stubbs sitting in the corner.

As if that wasn't enough, director Nick Moran was there too to introduce his film The Kid, adapted from the best-selling misery memoir by Kevin Lewis, accompanied by award-winning actor Con O'Neill, who plays abusive father to Rupert Friend's tortured protagonist.

Pretty impressive, I think you will agree.

More star struck by a visitor the previous day though was the cinema's general manager, Walter Francisco.

He had spotted - wait for it - none other than Kevin Ashman who boffins will know as a TV Egghead and one of the world's top quiz players.

So top marks to Walter. And fingers on buzzers for more famous faces. It's all going on...
 

23rd August 2010

Isn't it fascinating how some films divide opinion while others seem universally loved?

One festival visitor earlier this week was heard enthusing to box office staff about the brilliance of espionage film Farewell she had just seen.

And judging by comments on our new review wall in the bar area, this French film in the vein of The Lives of Others, and based on a true story about Cold War events that changed history, enthralled others too.

There were only rave reviews for The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, and The Girl Who Played with Fire, adapted from Stieg Larsson's cult page-turners in the Millennium trilogy, and also for Kurosawa's Seven Samurai (seven stars, fittingly, from two fans!).

But Cyrus, a dark and funny offering about love and family, despite being awarded a plethora of four stars mini reviews, disappointed one visitor who gave it a solitary star.

And although gentle animation The Illusionist was found to be utterly magical by most, it didn't quite hit the mark character-wise for one.

Any contenders yet there for the festival's Audience Award 2010 I wonder?
 


20th August 2010

It's such a delicious feeling, isn't it?

The quiet anticipation of something about to unfold you absolutely know will be great.

And so it is for me, and for you too I suspect, as the curtain rises each year on the Chichester International Film Festival, surely one of the best things about the city.

It was an absolutely magical start too, with five star-rated The Illusionist, a breath-takingly beautiful ode to a bygone age, with stunning, hand-drawn scenes of Edinburgh's mesmerising streets and skyline, surely enthralling our opening gala audience as it did me.

Even my teenage son, notoriously difficult to impress, gave it a four star thumbs up on the review wall we hope will soon be festooned with your mini Post-It note movie critiques.

Not to get too gushy here but I love everything about the festival really. The unfussy charm of New Park, the warm welcome, the civilised way you can take a glass of wine or cup of coffee into the auditorium with you, and, of course the incredible array of films over three weeks, each and every one an adventure in itself, and all hand-picked for their quality.

We are so lucky! And new for this year, cupcakes! How good can it get?

Sue Gilson