Filmhouse – a star is born
Built in a repurposed church on Edinburgh's Lothian Road, Filmhouse has been a landmark cinema in the city since 1978.
Following a £2 million refurbishment, Scotland's leading independent cinema Filmhouse returns with new leadership, a vision which builds on the venue's legacy as a space for learning and discovery, and a commitment to building a sustainable future.
The first film to welcome audiences back to the venue on Friday will be the ode to the beauty of the cinemagoing experience, Giuseppe Tornatore's Cinema Paradiso (1988).
Filmhouse is set to once again become a hub for film enthusiasts, offering a cutting-edge cinematic experience, a vibrant social space, and a platform for film lovers and filmmakers to engage with the very best in global cinema. Previously a three-screen venue, the new Filmhouse will become a four-screen cinema and soon will be unveiling a fourth screen with a capacity of 24, allowing for an even more expansive programme, as well as being available for private screenings and hires.
The cinema's technical capabilities include 70mm, 35mm, 16mm, 8mm, and digital projection. The cinema also includes a Clipster Unit for creating Digital Cinema Packages (DCPs) required for festival and theatrical distribution.
Here is the team behind the renovated gem:
All photos Kat Gollock
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BBC News
3 days ago
- BBC News
Renee Zellweger film to premiere at Edinburgh Film Festival
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Edinburgh Reporter
3 days ago
- Edinburgh Reporter
Films to be shown in several venues at this year's EIFF
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3 days ago
- The Herald Scotland
Soaring demand for premieres boosts Edinburgh film festival
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The Filmhouse has only just reopened after being put up for sale by the CMI's administrators and rescued by a group of former staff, while a brand new board and team has been assembled to lead the festival into a new era. The Golden Spurtle documentary will go behind the scenes at an annual porridge-making world championships held in a village in the Highlands. (Image: Supplied) Last year's reboot, which also feature the launch of a short film prize named after Oscar-winning filmmaker. She was one of last year's special guests, along with filmmaker Gaspar Noe, writer Alex Garland, and screen stars Saoirse Ronan and Kelly Macdonald. The Edinburgh International Film Festival will be returning to the historic Filmhouse cinema for the first time in three years. (Image: Kat Gollock) Mr Ridd said: 'I think we had a really strong start last year. 'We had a real opportunity, because we were building a whole new organisation, to rethink a lot of things and relaunch the festival. 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Mr Ridd said the involvement of the Sean Connery Foundation had been crucial in helping to realise ambitions to showcase new films of the highest possible quality drawn from around the world. Classic James Bond films, including Goldfinger, will get rare screenings at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. (Image: Supplied) Filmmakers from Canada, Spain, Greece, Denmark, Croatia, France, Turkey, Australia, Brazil and Japan feature in the programme, which will champion 43 new features, including 18 world premieres in total. Mr Ridd said: 'Every programming decision we make is about providing a broad range of really high-quality international work. Lady MacLean will be among the new Scottish films premiered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. 'We have got really a strong presence of Scottish films, Scottish filmmakers, UK films and UK filmmakers, embedded in a wider matrix of international cinema. That is absolutely crucial to what we're doing at the festival. 'Having Sean Connery's name on the feature filmmaking prize has been absolutely invaluable for the festival. Actress Morven Christie will be launching Stray, a new short film she has directed, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival. 'Last year we had around 2500 submissions for the feature filmmaking prize. This year we have been considering more than 4500 films. 'It has been a very difficult process, but what it has meant that the films that are in the final programme are of a very high standard. 'People obviously really see the value of that prize, the prestige of the Connery name and the history of the festival. 'Jack King, who won the Connery prize with The Ceremony last year, has told us that it has completely altered the trajectory of his career.' Mr Ridd said it was 'crucial' for the festival to attract filmmakers to Edinburgh to launch their films to help them find the widest possible audiences for their work. He said: 'I would measure around 50 per cent of our success on the seven days the festival is in August, and what we deliver for audiences and filmmakers. 'I think the other 50 per cent is about tracking what happens to those films and filmmakers afterwards. 'Last year, 60 per cent of our feature films secured UK distribution, which was really good, but we want to grow that figure. 'The way that we do that is to create opportunities for our filmmakers to speak directly to audiences but also interact with all the industry delegates that we have. It's all about what the future of their films and what the future of their careers looks like. 'These are tough times for filmmakers. It is a miracle every time a film gets made, let alone seen. Distribution is really tricky at the moment. 'We have a weight of responsibility to foster an environment in which films have the best possible chance to secure distribution, and filmmakers have the chance to potentially meet that next collaborator, commissioner or producer on the ground. We are very much focused on providing a really strong platform to address the challenges that filmmakers have. We can promise that we will give those films and filmmakers in our programme a fighting chance beyond the dates of our festival 'We are very much focused on providing a really strong platform to address the challenges that filmmakers face. 'We can promise that we will give those films and filmmakers in our programme a fighting chance beyond the festival.' The film festival was launched in 1947, the same year as both the Edinburgh International Festival and the Fringe, and ran at the same time of year as the other events until a controversial change of dates in 2008, when it was moved to mid-June. It kept the earlier dates until the Covid pandemic forced the cancellation of the 2020 event. However the rebooted version of the EIFF seems set to stay in August for the foreseeable future. Mr Ridd said: 'Edinburgh has the biggest arts festival in the world in August. There are so many creatives from all areas of the arts engaged in performance and discovery. 'There is an audience that is already invested with the 78 years of this festival's history and our programme. 'To me, it is about bringing those audiences who are engaging with the music, comedy and theatre that is going on to bring them to our films as well. 'We want to open up opportunities for people to take risks and explore all this new work. The idea of discovery is what really gives the film festival momentum.'
