Chichester bestows highest honour on city cinema founder

Roger was given the Freedom of the City of Chichester at a special ceremony: “I feel very proud and the whole family were there. They have all been involved in various ways. In fact I'm quite overwhelmed by it but I think the important thing is through this honour that the council has recognised the cinema as a subject to vote for. The cinema has always been a Cinderella of the arts so I do find this very encouraging.”

Councillor Clare Apel did the honours at the ceremony: “It is a great honour for me to read the citation for giving Roger Gibson the Freedom of the City of Chichester. This is the highest accolade which the city can give to a resident and it is well deserved.

“When I moved to Chichester in the late 60s, we had three cinemas. By the middle of the 70s we had just one and shortly after that none. However Roger changed that sad scene. Roger moved to Chichester in the late 70s. He formed the Chichester Adult Education Film Society. Films were shown on 16mm for just one evening a week for 24 weeks. The society focused on world cinema and independent English-speaking films plus the odd box office hit. In 1985 the society was awarded The Film Society of the Year Award by Southern Arts for being the most enterprising arts society in the region. In the same year the Best Film Selection Award by the British Federation of Film was also given

“In the early 80s, there was a big community movement to save the old school in New Park Road from being demolished by developers. It was saved but needed a great deal of work to be done to it. Roger and (his wife) Jo went into the large hall which was a wreck. He said to Jo: ‘This could be a great cinema.’ That is a man with vision. When the cinema opened, its name was changed to Chichester College Film Society. It began operating seven days a week with a 35 mm projector. In early 2012, thanks to local fund -raising and a generous donation from Albert Finney who lived in Emsworth, a digital projector was installed to keep pace with modern technology.

“In 1992 Roger set up the Chichester International Film Festival. This has meant New Park, The Film Society and The International Film Festival have been recognised all over the world. During the Festival we have films from everywhere. This has meant Roger has received many awards nationally and internationally.”

Clare added the cinema has “has enriched the cultural life of Chichester; improved well-being, health and built strong community links with charities and minority groups.”

She also pointed to its Cinema in a Box initiative during Covid; and its work with Snowdrop Trust. The Festival has also increased awareness of homelessness working with Stonepillow, The Four Streets and Heart Chichester. It has also introduced Stem Innovation, an outreach programme providing a link between classroom and the film industry for seven to ten-year-olds. And in response to the cost of living crisis, the cinema has also launched Feel Good Fridays.​