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.

Join our mailing list and we'll make sure you always know what's on and when.

What else is on?

Today (Wednesday 12th November)

15:15

After the Hunt 15
Descriptive Subtitles
2h 19m
When a student’s accusation shatters campus harmony, a respected professor must confront her own buried past. Julia Roberts, Ayo Edebiri and Andrew Garfield electrify Luca Guadagnino’s gripping psychological drama about truth and power in academia’s shadowed halls.

Book here

18:15

The Mastermind 12A
1h 50m
A mild-mannered man steals priceless art from a small-town museum, sparking a quiet crisis of purpose. Josh O’Connor shines in Kelly Reichardt’s wry, slow-burn heist drama set amid 1970s America’s political disillusionment and moral uncertainty.

Book here

20:45

Souleymane's Story 12A
1h 34m | French, Fulah & Malinke w/ English subtitles
Racing through Paris on his bike, an undocumented migrant faces a life-changing interview to stay in France. Anchored by award-winning actor Abou Sangare, Boris Lojkine’s taut, compassionate drama fuses social realism with the pulse of a thriller.

Book here


Tomorrow (Thursday 13th November)

12:30

The Mastermind 12A
Parent + Baby screening
1h 50m
A mild-mannered man steals priceless art from a small-town museum, sparking a quiet crisis of purpose. Josh O’Connor shines in Kelly Reichardt’s wry, slow-burn heist drama set amid 1970s America’s political disillusionment and moral uncertainty.

Book here

15:00

The Mastermind 12A
1h 50m
A mild-mannered man steals priceless art from a small-town museum, sparking a quiet crisis of purpose. Josh O’Connor shines in Kelly Reichardt’s wry, slow-burn heist drama set amid 1970s America’s political disillusionment and moral uncertainty.

Book here

17:30

Frankenstein 15
2h 30m
Guillermo del Toro reimagines Mary Shelley’s iconic masterpiece with haunting beauty and emotional depth. Starring Oscar Isaac, Mia Goth, and Jacob Elordi, this visionary retelling balances horror and humanity in a breathtaking tale of creation and obsession.

Book here

20:45

The Mastermind 12A
1h 50m
A mild-mannered man steals priceless art from a small-town museum, sparking a quiet crisis of purpose. Josh O’Connor shines in Kelly Reichardt’s wry, slow-burn heist drama set amid 1970s America’s political disillusionment and moral uncertainty.

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!