Big plans as Chichester FilmMakers launch into second year

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Chichester FilmMakers go public with their annual event on January 25 at the Chichester Cinema at New Park.

They launched in January 2024 and are marking their success so far and their move into their second year with four hours of film activities and talks from 2pm, supported by Chichester Cinema, Chichester New Park Centre, Chichester City Council, Old Chapel Productions, Let’s Make Films and the Sussex Film Office

Tickets are available on www.SussexFilms.com/tickets and on Eventbrite for anyone interested in film-making, the film industry, acting, production and post-production or wanting to know how films are made from small low-budget productions to blockbuster movies.

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Guest speakers include: Mark Adams talking about the role of film festivals and film financing; Howard J Ford, Sussex-based award-winning feature film director; and Stephen Baysted, film and games composer from the University of Chichester, talking about the relevance of film scoring and music to film and storytelling. There will also be a screening of Chichester FilmMakers’ debut film project The Barn, plus other locally-produced short films. The afternoon will also see the launch of scriptwriting and film-making competitions. Winners will receive a cash prize and mentoring and support to produce their short film in Chichester. There will also be the launch of community workshops for budding film-makers which will begin in April with camera and lighting workshops in Chichester, plus networking with film industry professionals and other film-makers

Jonathan Brooker, co-founder and executive producer, Chichester FilmMakers, said: “For next year, we are already planning our 2026 annual event which will likely be an all-day event. Similar content for 2025, but with an awards ceremony for our new competitions, more screenings of locally produced films, and more film project launches, together with exhibits from local film studios, and more talks from industry professionals.”

The Barn premiered in August 2024 at Chichester Cinema as a part of the Chichester International Film Festival. It has gone on to win more than 40 film festival awards from around the world, including Best Film, 1st Place Audience Awards, Best Actor (Peter McCrohon), Best Producer (Petrina Rodwell), Best Director (Jonathan Brooker), Best Cinematography (Ian Coulson), Best Editing (Paul Burton) and Best Costume Design (Isabel Saunders).

“This has helped to establish Chichester FilmMakers as a serious film producer, gaining support from the community and local film industry, and has helped to develop professional screen and film-making skills for the cast and crew, as well as providing professional industry screen credits and references for more than 60 local actors and film-makers.

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“Our next film project, entitled Final Truth, is a feature-length film and is now in development. We hope to begin filming in late spring 2025 and depending how much of the funding we’re able to raise that is needed to make this a successful feature film, we hope to complete this mid-2026. As with The Barn project, we want to bring local film makers and the community on board to work with professionals from the film industry. This is an ambitious project that will be filmed across multiple locations in and around Chichester, drawing on much of the rich architectural and historical landscape and locations in the area, to tell a story akin to a mix of Ron Howard’s Da Vinci Code, Stephen Sommers’ The Mummy and Christopher Nolan’s Inception.”

To do this Jonathan is working with a number of local writers and film-makers to “develop a truly engaging story of a thriller/action-adventure genre, with aerial stunts, chase scenes, flashback scenes to ancient times as well as the 1920s and a treasure hunt that our lead protagonist must doggedly pursue in order to redeem his family and preserve ancient history.”

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