Wide-ranging talks accompany the Chichester International Film Festival

A busy programme of talks will once again accompany the Chichester International Film Festival – a programme co-ordinated by Chichester Cinema at New Park’s education officer Patrick Hargood.

Coming up are:

A Celebration of Latin American Cinema, Thursday, August 13, 12:00, Lumiere. Deborah Shaw, professor of film and screen studies at the University of Portsmouth, and the author of several books on Latin American cinema, will present a talk celebrating cinema from the region, highlighting some of the most exciting films from recent years.

Robert Redford Talk: The Sundance Kid behind and in front of the camera, Monday, August 17, 13:45, Lumiere. Celebrating the remarkable career of one of Hollywood's best-loved stars. Sandy Guthrie, of the cinema education team, will run through Redford’s impressive career on screen while also considering the mark he has left on the film industry.

The Cinema of Andrzej Wajda: Sifting Through the Ashes, Tuesday, August 18, 13:00, Lumiere. Discovering the work and legacy of Polish film-maker. This heavily-illustrated talk by longstanding Sight & Sound contributor Michael Brooke will range over Wajda’s entire film career, including such neglected areas as his little-seen 1990s output and his television work while paying tribute to three great Polish stars that he discovered and nurtured: Zbigniew Cybulski, Daniel Olbrychski, and Krystyna Janda.

The Art of Women in Film, Friday, August 21, 13:30, Lumiere. Exploring the bold, distinctive voices of two of Britain's most acclaimed contemporary film-makers. Freelance researcher and writer on film, Jade Evans, will explore how both Lynne Ramsay and Andrea Arnold, as well as the films of their contemporaries, have crafted distinctive film-making styles that capture the psychological states of their characters and have created stories that explore themes of girlhood and the working-class experience.

Prison Films Talk: Fantasies of Fear, Authority and Escape, Saturday, August 15, 13:00, Lumiere. Examining one of cinema's richest and most enduring genres, from classic masterpieces to modern favourites. The talk, by Professor Emeritus of Cultural History Maggie Andrews, explores prison films, which have enthralled audiences and shaped attitudes towards the penal system since the silent era when Buster Keaton’s Convict 13 (1920) was praised for its surreal hanging execution.

Patrick said: “Our number one purpose in doing these talks is generating interest in a particular area of film or a particular film director and to encourage people to come and see the films. People tend to focus on recent stuff and think ‘Why should I come and watch these older films that I can stream?’ But we want them to come and experience these great films on the big screen which is where they should be.

“Different speakers have different perspectives on these films and on these directors, and maybe their talks will encourage people to look at them in a different way or in a way that they've never looked at them before. You might agree with what they're saying or you might not agree with what they're saying but maybe they will make you rethink or perhaps they will make you see these films for the first time.

“Some of our speakers come from within our team like Sandy Guthrie who was very keen to speak on Robert Redford but when we were talking about something on Latin American cinema we thought we needed a specialist for that. So I did some research and just up the road in Portsmouth, I found Deborah Shaw (professor of film and screen studies at the University of Portsmouth) who is absolutely the expert on that. And just up the road in the other direction we have Michael Brooke in Worthing who is the foremost expert on Eastern European cinema. Michael has been to the cinema before. A few years ago he did a talk on Ukrainian film. This year he's coming to speak on Andrzej Wajda.

“Last year we did five talks in just about a week and I thought that that was probably too much but we did really well. We had good attendances and in some cases extremely good attendances.”

Which is encouraging for this year's talks, but the point is that the talks build on something which happens year round at the cinema: “We had 25 talks last year and I will think we will do even more than that this year. We've built up quite a regular audience and that definitely helps.”