Edinburgh Film House was on the course on June 27th to reopen the doors and was closed for almost three years.
Following the £2 million renovation, Filmhouse will return with an additional fourth 24-seat screen and a total capacity of 350 seats. The fourth screen opens later in July as part of the second phase of work. Funding continues for the remaining elements of the project.
The cinema will open with a movie program that was missed during the venue’s closure. The film house team says further programming will cover world films, crowd entertainment, family films, avant-garde arthouse work, restored classics and curated retrospectives. The film will also screen for the first time events such as National Theatre Live and Live Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.
Filmhouse will partner with many of the Scottish film festivals, including the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, Take One Action, Edinburgh Short Film Festival, and Iberodocs Film Festival. Details of Filmhouse’s involvement at this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival have not yet been announced.
Features of the renovation include extra legged seating and a bar area that can take the 100 people who serve lunch and dinner.
The film will also announce new membership offers and multi-tier ticket pricing over the coming weeks.
Maili Fraser was supported by a grant from the Edinburgh City Council and was appointed Learning and Engagement Officer by film.
The revived film house is led primarily by a team of former cinema staff. Filmhouse Chair Ginny Atkinson, Head of Programming Rod White, Film Strategist and Technical Manager David Boyd at Mustard Studios James Rice, Strategic and Financial Consultant Mike Davidson and newly appointed Executive Director Andrew Simpson.
Edinburgh Filmhouse closed its closure in October 2022 after its parent company The Center for the Moving Image (CMI) joined in the administration. The campaign to save the historic cinema has received strong support from the UK industry, including film house patrons Jack Roden and Charlotte Wells, Dougray Scott, Brian Cox and Emma Thompson.
The building was purchased in April 2023 by Caledonian heritage. The Filmhouse team signed a minimum of 25 leases to the facility in July 2024. Screen Scotland and Edinburgh City Council supported the reopening of cinemas, supporting £324,000 from crowdfunder campaigns and £15 million from the UK government’s level-up community ownership.
“My love for filmhouse never faded, I was waiting for it to rekindle,” Simpson said. The incredible response to that closure has shown us how important this space is to the audience not only in Edinburgh, but to Scotland and beyond. We are back with fresh energy, clear plans for the future, and a commitment to providing a world-class cinema experience for everyone.
(TagstoTranslate) Edinburgh (T) Exhibition (T) Scotland (T) UK/Ireland
