Edinburgh Filmhouse

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Filmhouse
neoclassical stone facade
The front of the Edinburgh Filmhouse
Filmhouse is located in Edinburgh city centre
Filmhouse
Filmhouse
Location within Edinburgh city centre
LocationEdinburgh, Scotland, UK
Coordinates55°56′47.18″N 3°12′22.10″W / 55.9464389°N 3.2061389°W / 55.9464389; -3.2061389
OwnerCaledonian Heritable
OperatorFilmhouse (Edinburgh) Ltd
Current useTemporarily closed
Construction
Opened1979
ClosedOctober 2022
ReopenedSummer 2024
Website
www.filmhouse.org.uk

The Edinburgh Filmhouse is a cinema located in Edinburgh, Scotland, which opened in 1979. It was home to the world's oldest continually running film festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival.[1][2] The cinema closed in October 2022 when its parent body went into administration. As of September 2023, a campaign[3] organised by former staff is underway to reopen Filmhouse.

History[edit]

The building that housed the Filmhouse was erected in 1831 as United Presbyterian Church (later United Free Church), designed by the architect David Bryce in a Neoclassical villa style. It later became St. Thomas's Church of Scotland.[4][5][6]

The cinema began life when, in 1979, the disused St. Thomas Church building was converted into a 100-seat auditorium (later cinema 2) accessed via a side entrance on Morrison Street Lane.[7][8] The front of the building was listed and remained inaccessible until in 1985 when a new 280 seat auditorium and bar were added and the front entrance opened. It was located on Lothian Road nearby the Usher Hall, Traverse and Lyceum Theatres.

In March 2020, it was announced that the Filmhouse had plans to build a new home for the cinema on Festival Square, next to its existing premises. This was a revival of a plan that failed to win backing in 2004. The new cinema was never built, likely due to the company’s subsequent financial troubles.[9]

Starting in 2001, Edinburgh Filmhouse hosted the Edinburgh Greek Festival.[10]

Running[edit]

From 2010, Filmhouse was incorporated into Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), a registered charity which also incorporated the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Guild and Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen.

Since its inception it hosted the Edinburgh International Film Festival annually.

The Filmhouse was a publicly funded arthouse cinema.[11] Its programme was varied, ranging from art-house and foreign cinema to mainstream and second run films seven days a week. Extensive film education, informal and formal, for audiences of all ages, also took place.

The building included a cafe and bar.

On 6 October 2022 the CMI went into administration and closed its operations including the Filmhouse while seeking buyers for its assets.[12] In April 2023, Caledonian Heritable, which owns several pubs in Edinburgh, purchased the building for £2.65 million.[13] In July, the firm announced that they were close to reaching a deal with a group of former Filmhouse staff that would allow the cinema to re-open.[14] That deal was reached and in September a fundraising campaign[15] was launched to fund extensive refurbishment of the cinemas and cafe bar before a planned reopening in summer 2024.

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Licence to fill a seat". The Scotsman. 9 May 2002. Retrieved 15 July 2012.
  2. ^ "Scotland Hosts the World's Longest Running Film Festival". Scotland.com. Retrieved 15 April 2010.
  3. ^ Filmhouse. "Filmhouse". Filmhouse. Retrieved 30 November 2023.
  4. ^ "Edinburgh, 86, 88 Lothian Road, Filmhouse | Canmore". canmore.org.uk. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  5. ^ "Filmhouse in Edinburgh, GB - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  6. ^ Gifford, John; McWilliam, Colin; Walker, David; Wilson, Christopher (1991). Edinburgh. Yale University Press. ISBN 0300096720. Retrieved 25 September 2018.
  7. ^ "About Us - Filmhouse Cinema Edinburgh". Archived from the original on 18 July 2012. Retrieved 28 July 2012.
  8. ^ "Filmhouse (88 Lothian Road, Edinburgh) | The List". film.list.co.uk.
  9. ^ "Edinburgh Filmhouse revives plans for towering cinema in unused public square". HeraldScotland.
  10. ^ Administrator. "Edinburgh Greek Festival Background - Edinburgh Greek Festival". www.edinburghgreekfestival.com. Retrieved 23 July 2021.
  11. ^ "Curation | Filmhouse". www.filmhousecinema.com.
  12. ^ Walker, Peter (6 October 2022). "Edinburgh Film Festival and Filmhouse Cinema owner files for administration". Business Insider. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
  13. ^ Brown, Angie (21 April 2023). "Edinburgh Filmhouse: The former cinema building is sold for £2.65m". BBC News. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  14. ^ Farr, Jacob (12 July 2023). "Edinburgh Filmhouse on brink of being saved as cinema deal close with new owners". EdinburghLive. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
  15. ^ Tabbara2023-09-13T23:01:00+01:00, Mona. "Former Edinburgh Filmhouse staff create fundraising campaign to secure cinema's future". Screen. Retrieved 30 November 2023.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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