Coco Before Chanel12A

Directed by Anne Fontaine | France | 2009 | 1h 50m | French w/ English subtitles | Starring Audrey Tautou, Benoît Poelvoorde, Alessandro Nivola, Marie Gillain, Emmanuelle Devos

Young Coco Chanel works as a seamstress by day and a cabaret entertainer by night, then she meets a wealthy heir and becomes his lover and fashion consultant. Tired of the flowery hats, tight corsets and yards of lace that define women’s fashion, Coco uses her lover’s clothing as a starting point to distill an elegant and sophisticated line of women’s clothing that propels her to the top of Parisian haute couture.

The Oxford International Women’s Festival will host a post-screening discussion on Monday 13th March.

Reviews

‘Fontaine’s film is gorgeous, but its beauty is practical, almost textile, like a Chanel tweed.’
★★★★
Nina Caplan, Time Out

‘An epic story that gradually develops into a beautiful and beguiling homage to the first lady of fashion.’
Monisha Rajesh, Little White Lies

Sorry - you missed it!

We showed Coco Before Chanel between March 12, 2023 and March 13, 2023.

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What else is on?

Tomorrow (Sunday 9th February)

12:30

Where the Wild Things Are PG
Kino Kids Cinema Club
1h 41m
Adapted from Maurice Sendak’s beloved book, imaginative nine-year-old Max runs away after a fight at home and discovers a boat that takes him to a land of giant talking creatures. Kino Kids Cinema Club screening (£6 Adults / £4 Children).

Book here

15:00

Inside Llewyn Davis 15
1h 45m
With no winter coat, no steady home, and a shrinking circle of allies, a folk singer in 1960s Greenwich Village finds himself cut adrift and left behind in the Coen Brothers' melancholy exploration of the conflict between artistic idealism and commercial success.

Book here

17:30

A Complete Unknown 15
2h 20m
Timothée Chalamet plays a young Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York in the early 1960s, takes the folk scene by storm, and controversially rips up the rulebook, reshaping the trajectory of American rock music.

Book here

20:30

A Real Pain 15
1h 30m
Two cousins travel to Poland to honour their Jewish grandmother but soon recall why they’ve grown apart in the first place. Golden Globe-winning actor Kieran Culkin stars in this moving road-trip comedy, directed by co-star Jesse Eisenberg.

Book here


Monday 10th February

18:00

Inside Llewyn Davis 15
1h 45m
With no winter coat, no steady home, and a shrinking circle of allies, a folk singer in 1960s Greenwich Village finds himself cut adrift and left behind in the Coen Brothers' melancholy exploration of the conflict between artistic idealism and commercial success.

Book here

20:30

A Complete Unknown 15
2h 20m
Timothée Chalamet plays a young Bob Dylan as he arrives in New York in the early 1960s, takes the folk scene by storm, and controversially rips up the rulebook, reshaping the trajectory of American rock music.

Book here


Plan your visit

Our beautiful art deco inspired auditorium can be found just off East Oxford's Cowley Road. We are open 7 days a week. We open the cinema and box office 30 minutes before the scheduled start time of each film, and the Box Office then closes 10 minutes after the film starts. We don’t show adverts, just a couple of trailers, so don't be late as the film itself starts very close to the advertised time!