Filmhouse patrons revealed as 25-year cinema lease signed

Aftersun director Charlotte Wells and Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden have thrown their support behind the cinema

The multi-award winning director of the film Aftersun, Charlotte Wells, and Slow Horses actor Jack Lowden have become patrons of the Edinburgh Filmhouse.

The independent cinema was forced to close in October 2022 after its parent company Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) collapsed into administration.

But a campaign backed by actors, filmmakers and cinema-goers was awarded £1.4m UK government cash with the aim of reopening the doors at the beginning of next year.

The campaign group, created by former staff members, signed a 25-year lease for the Lothian Road building with new owners Caledonian Heritable last week.

Filmhouse now has a 25-year-lease for the Lothian Road site

Wells, who grew up in Edinburgh's Morningside just a couple of miles from the cinema, said: "I'm so pleased that these doors will finally reopen, providing an essential space in Edinburgh for audiences to discover films they might not otherwise see - films that challenge their perceptions of people, places, and the form itself.

"The Filmhouse was an essential part of my own story and I'm delighted it can continue to be that for others too through its film and education programming and its role as a public forum for film lovers.

"I'm proud to be an inaugural patron and can't wait to sit back down there myself."

Campaigners, under the name Filmhouse Edinburgh Ltd, plan to refurbish all three theatres and the café bar and introduce a fourth, 22-seat screen courtesy of funding from the UK government's levelling-up fund alongside money from Screen Scotland and City of Edinburgh Council.

A crowdfunding appeal has also reached its £300,000 target.

The Filmhouse was the home of the Edinburgh International Film festival.

It was known for presenting one of the most ambitious and diverse cinema programmes in the UK.

Lowden said: "I made a bee-line for Filmhouse when I lived in Edinburgh and loved the diversity of its programme - showing films from around the world as well supporting independent and local filmmakers - and so many film festivals happen there.

"I'm delighted that it's on track to reopen and honoured to be a patron and champion of what will be again a truly great, independent cinema."

Caledonian Heritable has now completed repairs to the fabric of the building and will gift all projection equipment to the new Filmhouse, including the customised analogue 35mm and 70mm projectors.

Filmhouse Edinburgh Ltd, a charity, was formed in December 2022 by four former Filmhouse colleagues - former programme manager James Rice, Rod White, the former head of programming, previous technical head David Boyd, and Ginnie Atkinson, the former CEO of Filmhouse and Edinburgh International Film Festival until 2010.

A spokeswoman for the Filmhouse said signing the lease meant work could now start on the refurbishment.

She said: "We are delighted that Jack and Charlotte will be patrons and champions of Filmhouse.

"Charlotte is living proof of the opportunity that exists for young people to find their feet - and their voice - in the medium of film at Filmhouse and, if they choose to, go on to work internationally.

"Jack is hugely articulate about the importance of Filmhouse as a place that screens and makes accessible every form of cinema - particularly the independent voices - which Filmhouse does day in day out.

"Signing the lease means we are a significant step further down the road towards re-opening the doors and putting great cinema back on the screens."