It’s Not Only Rock ’N’ Roll

Formed 62 years ago, The Rolling Stones are rock royalty and an institution. With the Chichester Festival Theatre examining the notorious 1967 drugs raid at Keith Richards’ West Sussex home in the play ‘Redlands’, the Chichester Cinema Education Team is looking at the Stones’ screen presence.

Sat 12 Oct 10:30

Ten years after the disappearance of their teenage daughter, a couple is confronted by a young woman claiming to be their lost child.

John (Jared Harris) and Mary (Juliet Stevenson) have lived with desolating grief and the agony of uncertainty for the past ten years. Their only child, Clare, ran away from home when she was fourteen and no trace of her whereabouts has ever been found. When Clare (Erin Doherty) returns, now a young woman of twenty-four, Mary is overjoyed. But John comes to believe that Clare is not who she claims to be. As old tensions resurface, deceptive motivations and thrilling suspense culminate in a gripping search for the truth. Harris and Stevenson deliver exceptional performances. Doherty subtly delivers nervous looks and hesitations which make her character a believable prodigal daughter but leave enough doubt about her to sustain the mystery. This is an absorbing and affecting tale beautifully told by director Gilbert.

UK 2024 Virginia Gilbert 90m

This intimate documentary reveals the story of a fierce rock 'n' roller, actress, muse and mother who rose to prominence in the 1960s and 1970s.

Anita Pallenberg was at many points in her life a newspaper headline: a "rock n' roll goddess," a "voodoo priestess," and an "evil seductress." She was accused of trying to break up the Rolling Stones, among other things. But those who loved her considered her an exciting cultural force, and a loving mother - and innocent of the accusations. Never-seen-before home movies and family photographs explore life with the Rolling Stones and tell a bittersweet tale of both triumph and heartbreak. From ‘Barbarella’ to the Swiss Alps, and the Lower East Side to London, Anita Pallenberg was a creative force ahead of her time. This has a perfect balance of heart, soul and humor that resonates within its core and just makes for some enjoyable and informative viewing.

USA 2023 Alexis Bloom & Svetlana Zill 110m

We are delighted to welcome Marlon Richards, son of Anita Pallenberg and Keith Richards, for a Q&A after the screening.

A romantic and thrilling story that spans several decades and continents; following one man's emotional journey to find his first love who disappeared 50 years ago, before his time runs out.

Kristopher (Egill Ólafsson) is a widower who is in the early stages of dementia. Realizing there isn’t a lot of time left before his memories are gone completely, he leaves Iceland and ventures to London, hoping to find his lost love. Flashbacks build up the story of how young Kristopher (Pálmi Kormákur) dropped out of school, got a job washing dishes at a Japanese restaurant, and fell in love with the owner’s daughter, Miko (Kōki). The film cleverly builds suspense in two directions simultaneously. We watch old Kristopher trying to find Miko and wondering if he’ll succeed, and we also wait with nervous anticipation to learn why the two were separated decades ago. Director Baltasar Kormákur masterfully weaves a story that encapsulates the human experience with poetic honesty and emotional depth. This is one of the most genuinely romantic movies of the past few years, not lightweight romantic, but rather romantic in a deep, human way that you can feel in your soul. (Some subtitles)

Iceland 2024 Baltasar Kormákur 121m

Imprisoned at Sing Sing for a crime he did not commit, an inmate finds purpose by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men in this story of resilience, humanity and the transformative power of art. Oscar tipped, this is a remarkable film that soars, and is justly hailed by film critics around the world.

Divine G (Colman Domingo) finds purpose at Sing Sing Prison by acting in a theatre group alongside other incarcerated men, including a wary newcomer (Clarence Maclin). When the curtain rises on the beauty they’ve all built, what we witness is a work of art that never papers over the injustices, just as we see the men who are fighting for their humanity in a world that doesn’t value it. This isn’t simply a movie about one man experiencing the power of the arts, but about how such a programme acts as a consistent source of sanctuary for everybody involved. Kwedar’s deft direction works in tandem with fine-tuned drama to craft naturalistic mosaics, drawn from a patchwork of real prison experiences. This film will break your heart and rebuild it stronger than before.

USA 2023 Greg Kwedar 105m

El Eco

The unique ties which bind rural farming communities are examined in this richly textured documentary which depicts all the nuances of a small Mexican community living in the remote village of El Eco.

Documenting life in the small village of El Eco in Mexico’s Puebla over the course of 18 months, we observe its changes in weather, fortune and the temperament of its few, tightly bonded residents in fine degrees. Here, everyone’s welfare hangs on the same unkind elements; with the frost and drought punishing the land, they learn to understand death, illness and love with each act, word and silence of their parents. Will the teenage Montse, prematurely aged by the rigours and responsibilities of a life on the land, break the patten and diverge from the path taken by generations of her ancestors? Salvadoran-Mexican director Tatiana Huezo has somehow crafted this compelling and beautifully observed documentary in such a way that it looks like realist drama. (Subtitles)

Mexico/Germany 2023 Tatiana Huezo 102m

While scavenging the deep ends of a derelict space station, a group of young space colonizers come face to face with the most terrifying life form in the universe.

USA 2024 Fede Alvarez 119m

Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.

A detective inspector investigates a series of murders in a riverside town in rural China in the 1990s. After a swift arrest, clues push the policeman to dive deeper into the hidden behaviour of the locals.

Beleaguered police chief Ma Zhe is charged with investigating the murder of ‘Granny No 4’ in a neighbouring rural village of only 50 families and tries so hard to unravel the killing, that he almost decends into madness. Granny Four had taken in a simpleton who, throughout the movie, is known only as “the madman” (Kang Chunlei) and he becomes the natural suspect, but nothing is clear-cut… This is far from a standard police procedural; increasingly blurring the line between the real and the imagined, fact becomes fiction and dreams become nightmares. This stylish, murky and enigmatic noir is imaginative in structure with impressive production design and breathtaking cinematography. One of two very good Chinese films in this season’s programme (see also ‘Black Dog’). (Subtitles)

China 2023 Wei Shujun 101m