Edinburgh Filmhouse in new funding plea ahead of reopening

The Herald Scotland

4 days ago

The arts charity behind the rebirth of the Filmhouse, which first opened in 1979 after the conversion of a former church, said the final tranche of funding will also pay for key environmental and accessibility improvements around the building.
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A message sent to supporters ahead of the public reopening of the Filmhouse on Friday admits that its fundraising campaign, which was launched in September 2023, has fallen "short" of a reopening refurbishment target.
Although an official crowdfunding campaign page has been closed, supporters are being asked to make a donation when they are buying tickets for the new-look Filmhouse.
A £1.5 million UK Government grant for the project, providing the vast majority of the funding for the planned revamp, which has included more comfortable seats offering greater leg room being installed in screening rooms, as well as overhauls for the Filmhouse café-bar and foyer. Edinburgh's Filmhouse cinema will boast a new look when it reopens to the public. (Image: Filmhouse)
Although the creation of a fourth screen is part of the project, it is not expected to be up and running until later in the summer, ahead of the return of the film festival in August.
The Scottish Government agency Screen Scotland and Edinburgh City Council have also supported the rescue bid for the Filmhouse, which was forced to cease trading, along with the film festival, when their operating company, went into administration in October 2022.
Scottish Secretary Ian Murray met staff at the Filmhouse in Edinburgh ahead of its public reopening. (Image: Ian Georgeson)
The collapse of the Centre for the Moving Image saw the Lothian Road building put on the open market and then snapped up by Edinburgh-based bar and restaurant operator Caledonian Heritable for £2.65m.
However a new charity, Filmhouse (Edinburgh) Ltd, was formed by four former members of staff, who managed to secure a 25-year lease which would allow the cinema to reopen if they could raise the money for a revamp seen as a critical to its future success.
The campaign to save the Filmhouse in Edinburgh saw images of classic movies projected onto the front of the building. (Image: PA)
A crowdfunding campaign, which raised more than £330,000, was backed by stars including the Jack Lowden, Brian Cox, Alan Cumming, Emma Thompson, Dougray Scott, Kate Dickie and Timothy Spall.
However the cost of the revamp has soared from £1.25m when the fundraising campaign was launched to more than £2.1m, the latest estimate for how much it will cost to complete the work.
The new Filmhouse fundraising appeal has been launched months after the National Lottery Heritage Fund turned down a bid for up to £250,000 to help pay for "significant" improvements to the building, which dates back to 1831, including work to improve its energy efficiency, and the installation of new lifts.
The message to Filmhouse supporters states: 'It is through the generosity and hard work of many that Filmhouse is here today, and we are so grateful to those who supported our journey towards reopening.
'The support we have received to date has not only allowed us to reopen Filmhouse, but has also enabled us to create a fitting home for cinema at 88 Lothian Road.
'Filmhouse is now a more accessible and comfortable venue, while remaining a warm and welcoming place for people to come together to watch and talk about cinema.
'As a charity, we will need to continue to fundraise to support our cultural mission.
'We also remain more than £100,000 short of our full reopening refurbishment fundraising target, which is key for vital environmental and accessibility improvements to our building, including upgrading our digital projector equipment to new, energy efficient laser projection.'
Ginnie Atkinson, a former chief executive of the Filmhouse and one of the four former members of staff involved in its revival, told The Herald: "We are still raising money because we still have some important work to do in the building.
"Behind the scenes, we are still approaching approaching potential private donors. This is not all about donations through the website. We are still in active fundraising mode to pay for specific things. That will continue until all the work we want to do is finished."