Chester International Film Festival (The CIFF)

The CIFF Partnership

The Chester International Film Festival began life as the Chester Film Festival in 1977. It was organised by a group of local film societies: Chester Film Society, Cheshire NALGO Film Society, Frodsham Film Society, Ellesmere Port Library Film Society, North East Wales Film Society and Vale Royal Film Society.

Back then, films were played from a 35mm projector and screenings took place in the Chester Arts Centre which was then located on the Market Square. In 1979, the Festival relocated to the Little Theatre in Newtown which became a standard location for Chester Film Society for many years. In the mid-1990s, the Film Festival was held in the Steam Mill and, later, several other venues were used.

In 2003 it was rebranded as the Chester International Film Festival and, in 2018, found a new home in Storyhouse which had officially opened the previous year.