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GALA SCREENINGS

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INDEX

OPENING GALA

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Wed 10 Aug 18:30 Dinner from 18:30 / Film from 20:30 Also screening Fri 12 Aug 15:30 – Auditorium Thu 11 Aug 19:30 – Leconfield Hall, Petworth (Film Only – Normal Price) Preview EIFFEL

We are pleased to open the 30th anniversary of our Festival with this epic French period drama. The government is asking Eiffel to design something spectacular for the 1889 Paris World Fair, but Eiffel simply wants to design the subway. Suddenly, everything changes when Eiffel crosses paths with a mysterious woman from the past. It is September 1886 and the Washington Monument, inaugurated the year before, has set a new benchmark of 169 metres in height in the tiny world of creators of large, international monuments. In the context of the World Fair, which is due to unfold in Paris 1889, the French government are looking for something spectacular and full of panache, and engineer Gustave Eiffel (Romain Duris) takes up the challenge. He does it partly out of love for Adrienne (Emma Mackey). The film looks back on the fight fought by “a man with an idea which was bigger than him”, offering up plenty of details, pace and credibility. This is a Parisian odyssey which is lent even greater energy by Romain Duris an excellent lead actor allowing him to play the protagonist for the full 29-year duration of the story. It is a gamble which has paid off for this popular film which does not hide its objectives, and ultimately keeps its promises. With Pierre Deladonchamps, Alexandre Steiger, Armande Boulanger and Bruno Raffaelli. (Subtitles) FRANCE/ BELGIUM/ GERMANY 2021 MARTIN BOURBOULON 108M Our thanks to Altitude for this screening.

We welcome film critic Derek Malcolm to officially open the Festival before the Opening Gala screening.

OPENING & CLOSINGGALA FOOD

Hosted by BRASSERIE BLANC – Wed 10 Aug 18:30 & Sun 28 Aug 18:30

The cinema has forged an excellent relationship with Brasserie Blanc over the last eleven years and continues the tradition of holding both Gala Dinners at the restaurant, continuing this year for our 30th anniversary. The chefs offer two special set meals for each Gala dinner with a glass of wine included in the price, the menu highlighting chef owner Raymond Blanc’s classic dishes with strong French regional influences of his youth. We are grateful for the generous support of Brasserie Blanc and its manager Dave Gillard and staff, who look forward to sharing the evenings with you.

Dinner will be from 18:30, followed by the film at 20:30. Book your place early to avoid disappointment. Tickets £39.

CLOSING GALA

Booking Ref

Sun 28 Aug 18:30 Dinner from 18:30 / Film from 20:30 Also screening Sun 28 Aug 10:30 – Auditorium (Film Only – Normal Price) Preview JUNIPER

We are delighted to close our Festival with this special preview. When a self-destructive teenager (George Ferrier) is suspended from school and asked to look after his feisty alcoholic grandmother (Charlotte Rampling) as a punishment, the crazy time they spend together turns his life around. Sam (George Ferrier) is a teenage boy pulled out of boarding school for the weekend by his estranged father, Robert (Marton Csokas), who needs someone to take care of his mother, Ruth (Charlotte Rampling). Side-lined by a leg injury, Ruth is stuck in Robert’s home for the foreseeable future, with her nurse, Sarah (Edith Poor), unable to be there around the clock, forcing Sam into responsibility he doesn’t want. Ruth is tough, seemingly unkind, and a functioning alcoholic, tasking Sam to deal with her demands while he struggles with life back home, reunited with feelings concerning the recent loss of his mother. Returning for another caretaking stint, Sam dares to engage with Ruth, learning more about his grandmother as they bond over unresolved feelings. Richly interpreted by Ferrier and especially Rampling, who finds ways to balance Ruth’s steeliness and woundedness, with the seasoned woman carrying far more on her mind than anybody fully understands. This film has many modest surprises to share, with Saville constructing a gentle understanding of sadness and human connection, finding little bits of life that add up to an impressively observed film. New Zealand 2022 Matthew Saville 94m Our thanks to Parkland Entertainment for this screening.

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