Chichester Filmmakers set out their ambitions for the future

The community group was set up in January 2024 with the aim of bringing together local talent from across Sussex and Hampshire, both skilled professionals and those aspiring to get into the film industry, to collaborate, to learn about the film industry and to gain practical skills through the creation of high-end films. The Barn was the first project and gained valuable pre-production support on the script from Academy Award-winner Kate Winslet.

The film brings an original story told across four centuries to the screen using iconic locations in West Sussex to showcase local talent. Written and directed by Jonathan Brooker, the debut has attracted the interest and support of numerous film professionals.

Now Jonathan is keen to develop things further. He is looking at further exposure for the film across a wide range of film festivals, but also he is hoping that the Chichester Filmmakers will now start to move towards perhaps two or three films a year: “The whole thing was a happy accident. It was brought about by the actors’ strike last year which brought the entire entertainment industry to a halt. There were very few new shoots and I wanted to create opportunities. We launched back in January and at that time I was trying to use some acting and crew talents locally, people that were trying to get into it. We found there were lots of people sitting around who couldn't get anywhere. The whole machinery had been brought to a halt because of the strikes in the States and I just didn't like sitting around twiddling my thumbs. I do film scoring in my spare time and that work had dried up and I just started to think what we could do with the great talent that we have around here. I was talking to various people and I was hearing about the Chichester International Film Festival and people were saying that the festival would do anything they could to support local productions and so I got chatting to them and that's how it started.”

Jonathan admits he is shocked in a way that things have got this far, but also delighted. He puts the success down to the cast and crew: “The essential attributes were that they needed to be veterans with acting skills or to be new to the industry. I wanted a coaching, mentorship environment, and that's what we made happen.”

The Barn has now had its premiere: “We are now working with 34 other film festivals around the world. It's about exposure and I want three things to happen. One is to say to the film industry ‘Look! Chichester has something serious going on and this is not a one-off!’ We want to do maybe two or three films a year. The other thing I want to happen is that perhaps The Barn could be made into a feature film. I feel there are just so many opportunities. But the third thing I want is to create great opportunities to develop local talent. We had people who were completely green with no experience but just wanting to get into it and we were able to develop and nurture their skills.”

Part of the challenge will be that The Barn was made on a zero budget, basically on the back of goodwill. For future productions Jonathan is wanting at least to be able to pay the professionals and so expects the films to have a budget of at least £10,000 which obviously will have to be found.