The Chauvel Cinema & Bar

Sydney’s listed screen gem The Chauvel has been operating in the historic Paddington Town Hall from 1977. Formerly the Paddington Town Hall ballroom (the fully sprung floor remains under the seats) our Cinema One auditoria boasts a barrel-vaulted ceiling. The cinema has long been the spiritual home of Australian film culture, a gathering place for true film lovers to share their passion for the best of independent cinema.

Previously, an Australian Film Institute (AFI) cinema from the 1980s, it was named after the Charles Chauvel**, a pioneering Australian filmmaker form the mid 20’s onwards, best remembered for Forty Thousand Horsemen (1941) and Jedda (1955). Plans to have a cinema installed were initiated in the early 1970s by the Paddington Town Hall Centre, a group that attracted funding to renovate the whole building from the then Film, Radio and Television Board of the Australia Council. It was named the Ozone. Then, in 1978 the Paddington Town Hall Cinema became for a short period the home of the National Film Theatre (NFT) and a hub for Cinémathèque goers. A term that originated in France and is essentially a cinema attached to a film library, or a film archive. In 1995 the cinema complex and foyer was renovated and a second screen was added.

At time of late September 2006, when The Chauvel closed its doors, Lord Mayor Clover Moore received around 100 letters about the cinema, the most she had received on any arts related subject since her succession. These letters came from residents and non-residents; people involved in the film industry and people who were keen cinema-goers. They pointed to the Chauvel's important role in screening new Australian films - that would otherwise not be seen at the large multiplexes or would be diminished on TV. Palace Cinemas were selected as the new lesee thereby safeguarding The Chauvel as a unique film centre. On July 27th 2006 The Chauvel re-opened its doors.

Today, The Chauvel seeks to be a vibrant, professionally managed specialist art-house cinema that is dedicated to offering distinct and alternative viewing experiences to the mainstream, and more importantly, fostering film culture in Sydney. Through the exhibition of diverse films, exclusive releases, Film Festivals, Cinémathèque, Australiana, International touring programs, Special Events, as well as high quality projection facilities, dedicated & passionate staff and a welcoming atmosphere, The Chauvel aims to become the premiere film hub in Sydney and a fixture in the cultural landscape of the city. Our patron Rose Byrne is “very proud to be a patron of the new revitalized Chauvel Cinema and to have the opportunity to lend my support to this great project. The Chauvel Cinema is an important part of Sydney’s cinematic heritage having supported the early work of some of Australia’s most high profile filmmakers.”