Some of the team marking the reopening last year (pic: DB Media Services)
Film fans are preparing to celebrate a remarkable story of recovery, writes TERRY MURDEN
As one of the iconic institutions that suffered the financial fall-out from the pandemic, there were those who thought the Edinburgh Filmhouse would be consigned to the cinematic archives. It took a Herculean effort worthy of a dramatised story of survival for the screens to flicker back to life.
Preparations are now under way to mark the first anniversary since the independent cinema on Lothian Road reopened following a three-year campaign to save it from permanent closure.
It will present a series of classic and contemporary screenings throughout June and into July alongside behind-the-scenes tours, live music, and family activities.
Among the highlights is a 70mm screening of Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey and a discussion with novelist Ian Rankin.
Built in a repurposed church, Filmhouse has been a cinematic landmark since 1978 and played a key role in the Edinburgh International Film Festival.
In 2020 it announced hugely ambitious proposals for a new cinema to be built on neighbouring Festival Square. Designed by Edinburgh-based Richard Murphy Architects, the plan was for five screens and a theatre – compared to the three screens it had at the time – and a rooftop restaurant and events space.
But the costs rose from an initial £10m to £60m and financial realities kicked in. Not only was the project abandoned, the Filmhouse closed in October 2022 when its parent company, Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), went into administration following a battle against mounting costs and the impact of the Covid pandemic.
The abandoned design for a new Filmhouse
A rescue campaign was backed by actors Brian Cox and Jack Lowden and a charity was created by a group of staff, securing £1.5m from the UK government’s Community Ownership Fund. A crowdfunder raised a further £324,000. It reopened on 27 June last year following a £2 million refurbishment.
There are now four screens with a total capacity of 350 seats and it continues to showcase world cinema, retrospectives, restored classics and independent films.
Andrew Simpson, executive director, said: “The first year of the new Filmhouse has been quite a ride.
“Since June 2025, 125,000 people have sat down to watch a film here, and more than 200,000 have walked through the doors of our building.
“Re-establishing Filmhouse as a place for people to meet, socialise, eat and drink, enjoy themselves, and most thrillingly of all, experience the magic of cinema in all its forms has been a very special experience for all of us here.”
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