Film celebration of West Sussex

After success in Cannes, London, Los Angeles and numerous West Sussex villages, Philip Davidson brings his film celebration of West Sussex to Chichester.

The film, called simply DWS and 32 minutes in length, is at the Festival of Chichester at the Chichester Cinema at New Park on June 28 at 3pm and on June 29 at 4pm.

You can catch info and a clip at www.dayfilm.com/DWS.

Film-maker Philip, who lives at Crossbush, just outside Arundel, promises viewers an uplifting experience with his latest musical documentary.

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“It has had a good response. Everywhere it is shown, people seem to like it. The performances are usually quite full. I have done quite a lot of showings in historical societies in villages.

“People that come to see it do seem to come away feeling quite uplifted. People like seeing West Sussex. I showed it in Los Angeles when I was out there. I was there for about three weeks in January, and everybody that saw it liked it. I thought I might try to get some distribution out there, but nobody of that ilk came along. But it has also sold quite well.

“I am fairly into developing this whole idea of musical documentaries,” he explains. “It’s partly a music video. It accentuates the various things that need accentuating. The film is also a travelogue in a lot of ways. It has got the history of West Sussex, and it has got present-day Sussex.

“It has got the Arundel Festival, Worthing Carnival and the Revival.”

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He shot it in September of the year before last and then edited it over a six-week period in January and February last year.

“It has got the occasional interview, but I am trying to get away from talking heads. It’s about having an emotional experience within the film.

Philip, who has produced something similar on Devon, added: “A lot of people have said that it shows the spirit and colour of West Sussex. It has got a lot of things in it that people don’t know. I am good at digging things out. There are things in there that some of the best historians don’t even know.

“Until this point, it has been a bit of an amateur venture, a hobby. But it is something that I have always wanted to do. I have worked in the film industry, but with this film, I am hoping to launch a much bigger idea.”

Tickets £2.50; concessions £2.20. Available from www.festivalofchichester.co.uk or 01243 813595 or Cloisters Shop, Cathedral Cloisters, Chichester, PO19 1PX (open Monday-Saturday, 10am-5pm).

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