FILM EDUCATION Supporting Education
at New Park
ABOUT US
Following our humble beginnings in 1979 as a Film Society, Chichester Cinema moved to its current location at New Park in 1986 and has been serving the community ever since, with a unique range of films, talks and events.
Our mission is to programme the widest range of independent films, performance events and educational talks in a welcoming and inclusive way to bring the community together, encourage debate, enlighten and inspire!
EDUCATION AT NEW PARK
As a charity, the cinema has education at its heart. Our educational activity takes two forms: we provide free, bespoke talks and workshops for primary and secondary school children, ans we put on talks within our public film programme for adults keen to learn more about film history, filmmakers, actors, writers, genres, etc.
Our prodigious output is run by a dedicated and talented team of volunteers, including former academics and journalists. We are fortunate to have also nurtured a great pool of outside specialist speakers who we are able to call on as required.
TALKS FOR ADULTS
Presented at 10:30am on Saturday mornings or occasionally at 6pm on weekdays, our well-attended talks attract those keen to improve their film literacy
Our post-talk surveys have shown a near 100% satisfaction level and positive word-ofmouth is driving audience growth
Being very community-focused, we enjoy collaborating with other organisations and have done so with the Chichester Festival Theatre, EcoChi, Stone Pillow, etc
EXAMPLES OF OUR TALKS FOR ADULTS
Smoke signals: From the Prairie to the Reservation - the Native American Experience on film: To coincide with the release of Killers of the Flower Moon, ex-journalist Sandy Guthrie provided an opportunity to examine the cinematic treatment of the indigenous population of the USA and Canada in fictional films, historical reconstruction and documentary.
Unsung Heroines or Domestic Drudges? Housewives & The Homefront
Cultural historian and author Maggie Andrews marked Women’s History Month
by looking at the ways in which the women left at home during World War II were portrayed in the films of the time. The talk was complemented by a screening of the Hollywood classic, Mrs Miniver.
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Home Movies: The films of Hirokazu Kore-eda
On the occasion of the release of his latest film Monster, criticJasper Sharp gave a talk on one of Japan’s premier filmmakers, exploring his themes of truth, memory and narrrative with clips and highlights of his illustrious career.
BLACK HISTORY MONTH
Examples of how the education team has marked Black
History Month include:
For our adult public programme, we presented a Talk on the extraordinary life and work of the pioneering African-American trail-blazer Paul Robeson, with a range of clips from his films or schools, during a day-long event, we placed ourselves in ohannesburg in the 1960s and the trial that changed South frica - The Rivonia Trial -called by many “The Trial of the entury” which lasted from October 1963 to June 1964.
A GREENER SCREEN
In partnership with Transition Chichester and EcoChi, the cinema’s A Greener Screen programme presents features, shorts & documentaries from around the world which are carefully curated to increase awareness of the importance of protecting our planet and provide hope, optimism and solutions in the face of Climate Change. These films are accompanied by talks centred around the theme of the environment
Charging just £5.00 (£3.50 for members) the aim is to make these as accessible as possible
PRIDE
To celebrate Pride Month, and in partnership with the Chichester Pride event, the cinema presents a varied selection of LGBTQ+ films, coupled with a relevant Talk.
In 2023, Alex Davidson, cinema curator at the Barbican and previously of the BFI, gave a talk on queer cinema, focusing on LGBTQ+ lives portrayed on screen from the silent era to the present day, illustrated by a range of film clips.
TALKS FOR SCHOOLS
The education team provides an exciting and engaging opportunity for local schools to take part in free, expert-led talks and workshops.
Designed in collaboration with teaching staff, our aim is to deepen the knowledge and appreciation of film. To support the curriculum, the power of film serves to ignite passion in a new set text, or to help bring characters and places alive. Talks also tie in with History and Media syllabuses. The talks are aimed at pupils studying at Key Stage 2 and 3, GCSE and A Level.
WORKINGINPARTNERSHIPWITH CHICHESTER’SSCHOOLS
In 2023, the cinema welcomed almost 1000 pupils with their teachers to attend tailored talks with clips based on subjects in the curriculum.
Examples of events for schools include:-
A Christmas Carol – Yr 10 Revision, An Introduction to Macbeth - Yr 10, Frankenstein
A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Appeasement, Othello, Moonlight, LA LA Land - Spectatorship & Ideology, The Handmaid’s Tale, King Lear, The Great Gatsby, Survivors, Au Revoir Les Enfants
WehaveworkedwithChichesterFreeSchool,ChichesterHighSchool,BishopLuffa, FelphamCommunityCollege,OakwoodSchool,StPhilipHowardCatholicSchool, StJoseph’sJuniorSchool,BourneCommunityCollege, SouthbourneJuniorSchoolandtheUniversity
FEEDBACK
“The session at the cinema was a really excellent way to introduce the text (‘Frankenstein’) to the students and they were then enthused to read the novel itself. The [cinema] team clearly put so much work into these events and have such a depth of knowledge. We look forward to returning for more sessions.”
Andrea Hodson, Teacher of English at Chichester High School
“The workshop beforehand really set the scene brilliantly and it was pitched perfectly for our Year 6 students of Oakwood School.”
On Holocaust Memorial Day, Mini Elliot, Oakwood School
“The session gave [them] a chance to reflect on the novel and to visualise the setting, characters etc”.
On a Wuthering Heights talk Yr 12 & 13 -
CHICHESTER HIGH SCHOOL, Emily Weedon, teacher
HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY
Every year, the Education team works with Chichester Marks Holocaust Memorial Day and invites schools to a workshop and special Holocaust-related film such as One Life and Where is Anne Frank.
Students from Bishop Luffa (Year 9) said:
“Our trip to New Park Cinema for ‘Chichester Marks Holocaust Memorial Day’ helped grow our understanding of the damage that the Nazis did to average people's lives during the Holocaust. We will be open-minded and be able to notice situations where people's rights are threatened, and be able to try to stop it. We thought the film was moving and it also made us more emotionally aware of the experiences of the Jews and other groups that Hitler tried to discriminate against and persecute”.
Mostimportantly,bylendingyoursupporttothecinema’s EducationProgramme,youwillhelptosecureitsfutureandits invaluableplacewithinthecommunity.
“Chichester Cinema at New Park is a gem; its contribution to the community little short of priceless.”
John Coldstream, member, and supporter
The Team
Patrick Hargood
Maggie Andrews
Brian Baker
Michael Cox
David Coxon
Rosemary Coxon
Abi Exelby
Anne-Marie Flynn
Carol Godsmark
Sandy Guthrie
John Harte
Mike Jennings
Nick Johnson-Jones
Lynn Keltie
Linda Marsh
Andrew Vance
TO SUPPORT OUR YEAR-ROUND EDUCATION PROGRAMME
Your kind support of the Education Programme will appear:-
Onthecinemascreenbeforeeverypubliceducationaltalkandschoolevent
Year-roundonthebespoketalkstrailersonthecinemascreeninfrontofsome60,000 annualvisitors
Inthe6printedseasonalprogrammes.Everyyear,nearly40,000programmesare distributedthroughoutChichester,incoffeeshops,pubs,galleries,hotelsandtothe cinema’s1200+members
Intheweeklyon-linenewsletterwhichgoesoutto8500people
Onallprintedhandoutsgivenoutwithourtalks
Inthepost-talksurveys
OnourWebsiteintheEducationsectionandalongsideeverytalk
CONTACT DETAILS
If you are a teacher wishing to express interest in your school taking part in our events: please contact Patrick Hargood at education@chichestercinema.org
If you are interested in supporting our education work financially, please contact Anne-Marie Flynn at annemarie@chichestercinema.org
If you interested in joining the education team contact Patrick as above
www.chichestercinema.org
