Edinburgh Film Festival goes out of business

The Edinburgh International Film Festival has been shut down with immediate effect after the charity that runs it, the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), announced it had ceased trading and called in administrators.

In a statement CMI said the decision was taken as a result of the "perfect storm" of sharply rising costs, in particular energy costs, alongside reduced trade due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis. 

CMI said that even with the recently announced energy price cap for businesses, its energy costs were likely to rise by approximately £200,000 over the next 12 months, and with the price cap only in place for six months, planning beyond March 2023 was "highly uncertain".

"The combination, and scale, of these challenges is unprecedented and means that there was no option but to take immediate action," the statement said.

As a result, Filmhouse Cinema and Café Bar in Edinburgh, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Belmont Filmhouse have all ceased trading immediately with administrators appointed for all entities.