Edinburgh Filmhouse has received a vital funding boost from the UK government’s Levelling Up community fund and is now on course to re-open this autumn, two years after it was forced to close.
A total of six Scottish community spaces were saved from closure owing to £3.8m funding from the government’s Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities’ Community Ownership Fund.
Across the UK, the department has today (March 23) announced £33.5m in funding to protect more than 80 projects. Filmhouse has been awarded £1.54m.
The Edinburgh Filmhouse building was sold for £2.65m in April last year. The building was put up for sale after parent company, the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) – which also ran the Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen and the Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) – went into administration in October 2022. The Filmhouse was previously also the home of EIFF.
FRP Advisory was appointed as administrator to oversee the sale of the building, with many concerned that the building’s days as a cinema were over, and that the site would return as a bar or hotel. A high-profile campaign calling for the cinema to be protected followed, including the voices of actor Tilda Swinton, screenwriter Paul Laverty, and filmmakers Mark Cousins and Kevin Macdonald.
Property management group Caledonian Heritable won the bid for the property at 88 Lothian Road. Former Edinburgh Filmhouse staff Rod White, David Boyd, James Rice and Ginnie Atkinson grouped together and agreed a six-month lease with Caledonian Heritable in September, and embarked on a campaign to raise £1.25m to refurbish the interior of the building and thus be able to enter into a long-term lease to re-open and operate the cinema.
Atkinson confirmed the Filmhouse will now be able to create a fourth screen as part of the interior refurbishment which will see all three screens given new seats and the cafe bar and public areas transformed.
The campaign received £254,460 from its online crowdfunder (as of March 22), plus £299,000 from Screen Scotland and £60,000 from the City of Edinburgh Council last November.
“We are delighted that our bid for UK Government Community Ownership Fund investment has been successful,” said Atkinson. “Many have dreamed of Filmhouse re-opening and this will make it possible not just to re-open but to create a fully refurbished cinema venue that meets modern audience expectations.
“It will also allow us to add a small, multi-use, fourth screen which will help optimise the diverse cultural programme of films and be available for education activities.”
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