Edinburgh Filmhouse set to reopen following funding boost
- Published
The Filmhouse is set to reopen later this year
Edinburgh's Filmhouse will reopen this year after securing a £1.5m grant.
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, film makers and cinema goers has now been awarded UK government cash with the aim of reopening the doors in the autumn.
The group is hopeful it can agree a lease with building owners Caledonian Heritable in May.
The cinema, on Lothian Road, opened inside the B-listed former church in 1979.
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 is also close to reaching its £300,000 target.
Trustees plan to renovate the interior and add a fourth screen
Trustee Ginnie Atkinson said there was still funding to raise but added that the campaigners were confident they could raise the outstanding capital.
"This is absolutely transformational," she said. "When we applied the amount was aspirational. We have to attract new audiences and make it a modern, comfortable cinema experience.
"The seating is 22 years old and in some of the screens, there isn't even room to cross your legs so we need to offer better.
Filmhouse Edinburgh Ltd say they are confident the cinema can offer something different
She said she believed the Filmhouse would offer something unique to other cinemas in terms of its programme, and could win back audiences.
She said: "The support we had in our fundraising campaign shows the huge number of communities we connect to, international students, film students, baby boomers, those who've gone on to work in the industry or ordinary punters."
Too late for Film Festival
The cinema will face the same competition as it did before it closed in 2022 from streaming services and other cinemas.
The group is hopeful a 33% rise in cinema going since 2022 will also help and it is still exploring options regarding pricing, including "pay what you can".
About 100 jobs were lost when the cinema collapsed into administration.
Another independent cinema, the Belmont, in Aberdeen, was also closed.
The aspirational opening date of 6 October will be too late for this year's Edinburgh International Film Festival, which also closed down as a result of CMI's demise.
Last year saw a slimmed down, temporary programme and details of the 2024 event, under a new organisation have yet to be announced.
David Smith, director of Screen Scotland said "That we will have the Filmhouse back, and better than ever is a tremendous outcome and all credit goes to the hardworking team that held on to that possibility and made it a reality across the last 18 months."
No one doubts the passionate support for Filmhouse.
Since its sudden closure in October 2022, more than two and a half thousand donations have been been made to the campaign to reopen, ranging from £2 to £5,000.
The £1.5m from the UK government gives the project the momentum it needs to move forward but the challenges are far from over.
The circumstances which caused CMI to fold, along with the Filmhouse, the Belmont in Aberdeen, and the Edinburgh International Film Festival have never been made public.
Their statement at the time referenced cost of living, energy prices and a decline in cinema, going post pandemic. Although Filmhouse Edinburgh Ltd is a new charitable organisation, it will face many of the same problems.
Cinema going may be gradually increasing but Filmhouse will have to win back an audience which has wandered elsewhere in the last two years.
To do that, they will have to bring the surroundings up to scratch, improve accessibility and secure a unique programme of films which can't be found anywhere else in the capital.
The new grant was in recognition of the huge support Filmhouse has from "the community". It's no ordinary community, taking in locals, students, international visitors, filmmakers and festival goers but in order for Filmhouse to survive and thrive, it needs to translate the passion of that community into support.
The outcry around the closure showed the fragile nature of even the most celebrated institutions, as well as a reminder that if you don't use it, you risk losing it.