Edinburgh Filmhouse to reopen after receiving £1.5m grant

Edinburgh Filmhouse has announced plans to reopen by the end of the year after being awarded a £1.5m grant from the UK Government.

The money from the government’s Community Ownership Fund (COF) will be used to upgrade the cinema’s facilities, including new seating with extra legroom, improved access and acoustics, a fourth screen and a revamped cafe/bar and foyer area.

The cinema, housed in a former church building since 1978, closed suddenly in October 2022 after the charity responsible for running it, the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), announced it had ceased trading and called in administrators.

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CMI, which also ran the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Belmont Filmhouse, said at the time that the decision was made because of the "perfect storm" of sharply rising costs and reduced trade due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis.

Following the cinema’s demise, campaigners launched a newly formed charity, Filmhouse (Edinburgh) Ltd, to help secure its future with a campaign backed by celebrities including Brian Cox, Emma Thompson, and Alan Cumming.

In addition to the £1.5m COF grant, the charity has raised over £400,000 of required match funding, including £250,000 generated from public crowdfunding and £300,000 from Scottish Government agency Screen Scotland.

Administrators for CMI sold the cinema's historic building to hospitality company Caledonian Heritable last April but agreed to offer the charity a six-month lease to allow fundraising to take place, with the prospect of a longer-term arrangement if successful.

'Absolutely transformational'

Director of Filmhouse (Edinburgh) Ltd Ginnie Atkinson, formerly Chief Executive of the Filmhouse, said that the grant was "great news" and could mean that the building reopens by Christmas, creating up to 40 jobs.

Speaking to The Scotsman, Atkinson said, “When we applied for UK Government funding, the amount we went for was aspirational. To get this will be absolutely transformational for the Filmhouse.

"We now have to complete our negotiations with Caledonian Heritable on the lease, but would hope to be able to sign that on 1 May and then start the work the next day."

Although the improvements to the building will reduce the cinema’s overall capacity from around 450 to 350, Atkinson said they would help “attract new audiences” by offering “a modern, comfortable cinema experience.”

Minister for Scotland Donald Cameron added, “What really struck the government about this application was that the Filmhouse had such widespread and varied support."

“There has been a very powerful campaign which has been driven by the community and its long tie-up with the Edinburgh International Film Festival is also very important.

"We hope this significant funding will not only just reopen and refurbish the Filmhouse, but reinvigorate it.”

Edinburgh International Film Festival returned last summer with a scaled-down programme of events as part of Edinburgh International Festival, with funding from Screen Scotland.