Oscar favourite for Best Film. This is a visually arresting drama that tells the story of ambition, art and survival in the aftermath of World War II, exploring the life of a visionary architect as he seeks to leave his mark on postwar America.

László Toth (Adrien Brody) is a Hungarian architect who emigrates to America with his wife Erzsébet (Marion Cotillard), in search of a fresh start and creative freedom. As Toth’s career takes off, he faces the dark intersections of art and politics, grappling with personal sacrifice and ethical compromises. With stunning cinematography that mirrors the stark and monumental style of brutalist architecture, ‘The Brutalist’ is both a character study and a meditation on art’s power and cost. Corbet’s ambitious storytelling and the film’s haunting aesthetic make this an unforgettable cinematic experience.

USA/Hungary 2024 Brady Corbet 205m

A high-powered CEO puts her career and family on the line when she begins a torrid affair with her much-younger intern.

Romy Mathis (Nicole Kidman) owns a duplex apartment in the city and a big house in the country. She has a doting husband (Antonio Banderas), two adorable daughters and a gilded career as the CEO of a non-specific “robot business” that runs a successful delivery scheme. She has it all, which naturally means that she wants something else, something more. Before long she has embarked on a perilous affair with her office intern Samuel (Harris Dickinson). Kidman and Dickinson smoulder together, with writer-director Halina Reijn's clinical gaze keeping this sexually frank thriller more provocative than salacious.

USA 2024 Halina Reijn 114m

A beautifully made drama exploring the complex dynamics of a sprawling family near the wartime border with Germany.

The lush and breathtaking beauty of the Alps, filmed with painterly grace under natural light from frigid winter to redemptive spring, provides the physical and emotional backdrop for Maura Delpero’s visionary film. In the last days of WWII, we see a series of dramatic, consequential events after the arrival of deserting Sicilian soldier (Giuseppe De Domenico). Including a romance with Lucia (Martina Scrinzi). This was a richly deserving winner of the 2024 Grand Jury prize at the Venice film festival. It is a richly compassionate, emotional and detailed drama of family secrets in wartime Italian countryside, in the manner of Ermanno Olmi or the Taviani brothers. It is wonderfully acted with unaffected naturalism by its cast of professionals and newcomers and plays an extravagant pizzicato on the audience’s heartstrings. (Subtitles)

Italy 2024 Maura Delpero 119m

La Dégustation

A very enjoyable wine-based romantic comedy about two awkward singles who form an unlikely couple and inadvertently find love.

Jacques (Bernard Campan) is divorced and runs a small wine shop on the verge of bankruptcy in a small French town. Hortense (Isabelle Carré) is also single, full of life and eager to find true love. One day she walks into his store looking for a good drop of wine to share with a group of homeless people that she regularly cooks for, and before too long she has signed up for a tasting workshop at Jacques’ store. The road to romance though, is not exactly smooth, especially when both of them are harbouring secrets – and nursing past hurts. Carré ('L'Enfant de Personne') and Campan ('Tous Inconnus') are both César award-winning actors and have convincing on-screen chemistry for an unlikely couple. Just like a good wine, ‘The Tasting’ has a lasting finish. (Subtitles)

France 2023 Ivan Calbérac 92m

An offbeat, deeply emotional romance that brings together the magnetic pairing of Florence Pugh and Andrew Garfield. Known for his knack for heartfelt stories with a twist, director John Crowley (‘Brooklyn’) crafts a love story that’s as funny as it is poignant, exploring the strange intersections of fate, memory and connection.

The film follows two seemingly mismatched characters, Eleanor (Pugh) and Louis (Garfield), whose lives unexpectedly intertwine and change each other in profound ways. Their relationship unfolds in fragmented glimpses of joy, heartbreak and fleeting moments that capture the ups and downs of modern love. This is a quirky, beautifully shot exploration of what it means to find - and perhaps lose - “the one”. This is indie romance at its most moving and inventive.

UK 2024 John Crowley 115m

As French romcom ‘The Tasting’ arrives at Chichester Cinema, this talk will look back at some of the films, both vintage and contemporary, from around the world in which booze has played a part.

From the very early days of cinema to the latest releases, the use and misuse of alcohol has featured regularly. To accompany the new French romcom ‘La Dégustation’ (‘The Tasting’), a talk will sample the films that place alcohol at the centre of the narrative, either as the luxury tipple of choice, or the demon drink. Former drinks trade journalist Sandy Guthrie will provide a cocktail of clips to show how wine, beer and spirits can fuel a story or act as a metaphor in films from around the world, whether historical films or contemporary dramas and comedies. Whether it is ‘Whisky Galore!’ or a tale from the vineyards of France, this tasting session will provide a few surprises, some classic vintage films and almost certainly leave the audience pining for a glass of something or other.

100m inc Q&A

Sat 15 Feb 10:00 - In the Auditorium

Director Robert Zemeckis (‘Forrest Gump’, ‘Back to the Future’) brings a mind-bending, visually inventive story to life, adapting Richard McGuire’s acclaimed graphic novel. Known for pushing cinematic boundaries, Zemeckis explores time, memory and the idea of “home” in an experimental, emotionally charged way.

The film stars Tom Hanks and Robin Wright as multiple characters across different eras, all connected to the same ordinary room over centuries. From the distant past to the far future, moments of love, loss and everyday life unfold within these four walls, each scene adding new layers to the meaning of place and belonging. With seamless transitions between time periods and captivating visual effects, ‘Here’ creates a moving, almost surreal experience that celebrates life’s fleeting, interconnected moments. Zemeckis’s latest work is a cinematic puzzle, blending the familiar and the extraordinary in a way only he can.

USA 2024 Robert Zemeckis 98m

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