Steve Coogan stars in this poignant dramedy that follows an Englishman's personal and political awakening after he adopts a penguin during a cataclysmic period in Argentine history.

Argentina’s 1976 military coup d’état, along with the sustained period of violence and forced disappearances that it ushered in, isn’t an obvious historical backdrop for a heartwarming tale of human-animal bonding. But that’s how the timing worked out for Tom Michell, an English teacher stationed at an elite Buenos Aires private school, at the time of the turmoil: With the country in chaos and many of his colleagues in crisis, he was figuring out what to do with the Magellan penguin he had accidentally adopted on a weekend jaunt to Uruguay. Director Cattaneo is best known for ‘The Full Monty’ and ‘Military Wives’, and Coogan brings his signature dry irony to proceedings, but the penguin is the real star here.

UK 2024 Peter Cattaneo 110m

A young woman released from prison struggles to regain custody of her children. When she bumps into her childhood friend, the two women soon realize their only chance is to join forces and take destiny into their own hands.

Molly (Posy Sterling) is a dreamer and a fighter. She is also a single mum that has just been released from four months in prison. When she goes to Social Services only to be told she can’t simply pick them up, it’s as though all the air has suddenly been sucked out of her world. The sudden appearance of a childhood friend she’s not seen in years, Amina (Idil Ahmed), leads Molly to clamp down on her panic for appearances sake. But it turns out Amina has plenty of trouble of her own as she and her young daughter Mya (Aliyah Abdi) are currently living in a hostel. But now Molly has a chance to break that downward spiral: to go on her own heroic journey and give her kids the love and hope no one gave her. Although the emotions in this story are raw, they are approached with sensitivity and a strong respect for people who are trying hard, even if they don’t always succeed.

UK 2024 Daisy-May Hudson 100m

Join us in celebrating Sir David Attenborough's 99th Birthday in style as the celebrated broadcaster explores the planet's undersea habitats emphasizing the ocean's vital importance while highlighting opportunities for marine life recovery.

This powerful documentary takes viewers on a breathtaking journey showing there is nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder or surprise, than the ocean. In the film the celebrated broadcaster and filmmaker reveals how his lifetime has coincided with the great age of ocean discovery. Through spectacular sequences featuring coral reefs, kelp forests and the open ocean, Attenborough shares why a healthy ocean keeps the entire planet stable and flourishing. Stunning, immersive cinematography showcases the wonder of life under the seas and exposes the realities and challenges facing our ocean as never-before-seen, from destructive fishing techniques to mass coral reef bleaching. Yet the story is one of optimism, with Attenborough pointing to inspirational stories from around the world to deliver his greatest message: the ocean can recover to a glory beyond anything anyone alive has ever seen. This special presentation includes 15 minutes of theatrically exclusive content.

UK 2025 C. Butfield/T. Nowlan/K. Scholey 100m

Punchy, perfectly paced, very cool and so much fun.

Vincent Vega (John Travolta) and Jules Winnfield (Samuel L. Jackson) are hitmen with a penchant for philosophical discussions. In this ultra-hip, multi-strand crime movie, their storyline is interwoven with those of their boss, gangster Marsellus Wallace (Ving Rhames); his actress wife, Mia (Uma Thurman); struggling boxer Butch Coolidge (Bruce Willis); master fixer Winston Wolfe (Harvey Keitel) and a nervous pair of armed robbers, Pumpkin (Tim Roth) and Honey Bunny (Amanda Plummer). Featuring scenes that have already become cinema legends – such as the dancing scene with Travolta and Thurman at Jack Rabbit Slim’s diner, as well as the “royale with cheese” conversation in the hitmen’s car.

USA 1994 Quentin Tarantino 154m

To complement our ‘Sexual Revolution of the 60s on Screen’ talk, we present this British classic, where beautiful but amoral model Diana Scott sleeps her way to the top of the London fashion scene at the height of the Swinging Sixties.

Gorgeous but easily bored Diana Scott (Julie Christie) becomes a popular model and actress in London in the 1960s while toying with the affections of two older men, married television newsman Robert Gold (Dirk Bogarde) and public relations mastermind Miles Brand (Laurence Harvey). Although Diana is the toast of swinging London, the dark side of fame and fortune begins to take its toll, but it proves harder to escape the mod scene than she expects. Schlesinger created a film that set tongues to wagging and moralists to wringing their hands. Christie's Oscar-winning performance is remarkably vibrant and outgoing, and hasn't aged a bit.

UK 1965 John Schlesinger 128m

An assassin trained in the traditions of the Ruska Roma organization sets out to seek revenge after her father's death.

Following in the footsteps of Keanu Reeves’ John Wick was always going to be a tough ask for Ana De Armas’ foray into the world of assassins. This is a simple revenge story from the world of the ‘John Wick’ franchise, complete with incredible stunts and improvised weapons; from flame throwers to grenades to ice skates… you must see it to believe it. There is exciting action from start to finish with some phenomenally choreographed and staged fight scenes. Ana de Armas is an action hero for the ages. The cast also features Keanu Reeves, Anjelica Huston, Gabriel Byrne and Ian McShane.

USA 2025 Len Wiseman 125m

A 93-year-old Irish writer Edna O'Brien recounts her controversial life, novels, love affairs, and stardom through personal journals read by actress Jessie Buckley.

In 1960, a young Irish woman named Edna O’Brien wrote a sexually frank debut novel, ‘The Country Girls’. She became a literary sensation, writing for The New Yorker, delivering provocative interviews and authoring screenplays. Her success enraged her writer husband and made her a pariah in her native Ireland, where her books were banned and burned. She would make her home in London, where she conducted numerous love affairs, hosted star-studded parties and made and lost a fortune. In July 2024, Edna passed away and this film provides a final testimony from her, aged 93, as she reflects upon her extraordinary life. Granting the director access to her personal journals, read aloud in the film by Irish actress Jessie Buckley, and with additional perspectives offered from Gabriel Byrne, Walter Mosley and an array of renowned writers, Edna does not shy from any subject.

Ireland / UK 2024 Sinéad O'Shea 99m

A Formula One driver comes out of retirement to mentor and team up with a younger driver in one of the most anticipated movie releases of the year.

Sonny Hayes (Brad Pitt), a Formula One driver who raced in the 1990s, has a horrible crash, forcing him to retire from Formula One and start racing in other disciplines. A Formula One team owner and friend, Ruben (Javier Bardem), contacts Hayes and asks him to come out of retirement to mentor rookie prodigy Joshua "Noah" Pearce (Damson Idris) for the Apex Grand Prix team.  The cast also features Kerry Condon (‘The Banshees of Inisherin’) as the Technical Director of the team and Kim Bodnia (‘The Bridge’, ‘Killing Eve’) as the Team Principal. Directed by Joseph Kosinski who brought us ‘Oblivion’ and ‘Top Gun: Maverick’, so expect this to be a cinematic tour de force, blending intense drama, high-speed action and intricate storytelling. Look out for some amazing cameos, as all ten Formula One teams and their drivers in the 2023 season appear as themselves including: Lewis Hamilton and George Russell (Mercedes), Max Verstappen and Sergio Pérez (Red Bull Racing) as well as Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz Jr. (Ferrari). Hans Zimmer has done the soundtrack for the film, so you know you will be coming out of the cinema fully energised.

USA 2025 Joseph Kosinski 156m

A Japanese puppeteer's daughter gets caught up with criminals when their show crosses paths with a crime gang, led by Sugarman and his son Little Sugar.

Set in the rugged landscape of 1790s Britain, Tornado (Kōki) is a young and determined Japanese woman who finds herself caught in a perilous situation when she and her father's travelling puppet Samurai show crosses paths with a gang of ruthless criminals led by Sugarman (Tim Roth) and his ambitious son Little Sugar (Jack Lowden). In an attempt to create a new life for herself, Tornado seizes the opportunity to take matters into her own hands and steal the gold from their most recent heist. What follows is a thrilling action tale, as Tornado, armed with her father's Samurai training, causes havoc as she seeks revenge. It is very interesting to see both the Western and Samurai genres being transplanted to 18th Century rural Scotland. You may remember director John Maclean for his brilliant 2015 Western, ‘Slow West’.

UK 2025 John Maclean 91m

From the People’s War to the People’s Peace

To mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II, a Talk for the Festival of Chichester, looking back at the portrayal of this momentous period in cinema.

Professor Maggie Andrews explores the role films played in the transition to peace at the end of the Second World War. ‘The Lamp Still Burns’ (1943), They Came to a City (1944) provided glimpses of the society the 1945 Labour Government was expected to create. However subsequent, films expressed the fantasies, fears and discontents created by the legacies of war.

This talk by Professor Maggie Andrews explores the role British films played in the transition from war to peace at the end of the Second World War. During the conflict cinema offered distraction, escapism, news, propaganda and dreams of a more egalitarian and socially just future. Films, such as ‘The Lamp Still Burns’ (1943) ‘They Came to a City’ (1944) and ‘Victory Wedding’ (1944) provided glimpses of the New Jerusalem the Labour Government, elected on the 5th July 1945, was expected to create.

In the following years, crime films, melodramas (including ‘They Were Sisters’ and ‘Waterloo Road’ — both 1945), action movies, even comedies, expressed and explored the fantasies and fears of a nation coming to terms with the complex legacies of war, whilst the popularity of films such as ‘Madonna and the Seven Moons’ (1945), ‘Scott of Antarctic’ (1948) or ‘The Glass Mountain’ (1949) indicated the nation’s ambivalence and ambiguity towards every day, domestic life in peacetime.

Adult £7.50, Under 25s £6, Blue Light & unemployed £6.

Sat 5 Jul 10:30

To complement the production of ‘Marie and Rosetta’ at the Chichester Festival Theatre, we are delighted to present a documentary on the life and music of African American gospel singer and guitar virtuoso Sister Rosetta Tharpe.  

Southern-born, Chicago-raised and New York-made, Sister Rosetta rose from poverty to become one of the world’s most popular gospel singers. During the 1940s and 50s she introduced the spiritual passion of gospel into the secular world of rock & roll, inspiring some of its greatest stars, including Chuck Berry, Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis and Little Richard. “Sister Rosetta Tharpe was a powerful force of nature, anything but ordinary and plain. She was a big good-looking woman, and divine, not to mention sublime and splendid”. – Bob Dylan. “She’d sing till you cried, then sing till you danced for joy” – Roxie Moore. “Absolutely brilliant – one of the best music docs I’ve ever seen!” - Fred McCormick. First broadcast on BBC Four, this rare screening has been made possible by the family of local director (and great friend of Chichester Cinema) Mick Csaky.

UK 2011 Mick Csaky 60m