Sir Cameron Mackintosh Presents…

As the season of performance events of musicals produced by Cameron Mackintosh continues at the cinema, this talk will explore their origins in literature and cinema.

‘Miss Saigon’, ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ and ‘Les Misérables’ - filmed live performances of all these stage musicals are being screened at Chichester Cinema. This talk, by Andrew Vance of the Chichester Cinema Education Team, will look back at the origins of these stories, including both the literature and the film versions on which they were based and the extent to which they influenced the creatives behind the productions. ‘Les Misérables’ is now in its 40th year and Cameron Mackintosh takes his maxim from the autobiography of Charles B Cochran - “Advice to aspiring young producers: never put a show on for audiences: always put it on for yourself and do it as best you can. Only then, maybe, will an audience come to see it.” For Cameron Mackintosh this has worked very successfully.

100m inc Q&A

Tickets £7.50

Sat 1 Feb 10:30 - In the Auditorium

Director James Mangold (‘Walk the Line’, ‘Ford v Ferrari’) takes on the enigmatic life of Bob Dylan in a fresh, unconventional biopic. Starring Timothée Chalamet as the iconic folk singer, the film explores Dylan’s transformative journey through fame, identity and reinvention during the 1960s.

Following Dylan’s rise from a Greenwich Village poet to a global music icon, we see the chaos, ambition and uncertainty of a young artist challenging himself and his audience. Chalamet embodies Dylan’s charisma and intensity, while scenes with real-life performances and legendary figures - from Joan Baez to Johnny Cash - anchor the story in music history. Mangold’s direction blends period detail with a restless energy, making this an intimate, raw look at an artist in constant evolution.

USA 2024 James Mangold 141m

To complement the new biopic on Maria Callas, we are delighted to welcome back to Chichester director Tony Palmer to introduce and Q&A his documentary on the great soprano.

This film, made at the request of Maria Callas herself, was started in 1973, but wasn't finished until 12 years later. It includes eye-witness accounts by Franco Zeffirelli, Tito Gobbi, Luchino Visconti, Carlo Maria Giulini, Giuseppe Di Stefano and many others who knew her well. It tells a story that was previously unknown, about a great singer who had been brought low by love, and whose career was unbelievably short when considered against her extraordinary worldwide reputation. Maria - just a woman, who often spoke of Callas in the third person, in trouble, asking, begging sometimes, for our understanding and our love. She deserves it, because there was no greater singing actress in our time. And she was only 53 when she died.

UK 1978 Tony Palmer 92m

Pigen Med Nålen

A fictionalised true crime hypnotic thriller based on a real Danish case from 1921, shot in high-contrast expressionist monochrome, and nominated for the 2024 Cannes Palme d’Or.

Copenhagen 1919: Young factory worker Karoline (Vic Carmen Sonne) is struggling to survive in post WWI Copenhagen, when she finds herself unemployed, abandoned and pregnant. She meets Dagmar (Trine Dyrholm), a charismatic woman running an underground adoption agency, helping mothers to find foster homes for their unwanted children. With nowhere else to turn, Karoline takes on the role of a wet-nurse. A strong connection is formed between the two women, but Karoline's world shatters when she stumbles upon the shocking truth behind her work. Scandi noir gets a 1910s twist in this darkly gripping, unsettling tale about a woman struggling to find love and a sense of morality. Denmark’s submission to the 2025 Foreign Film Oscar category is harrowing in places, but seriously impressive. (Subtitles)

Denmark 2024 Magnus von Horne 115m