The Edinburgh Filmhouse was a

cinema Cinema may refer to: Film * Cinematography, the art of motion-picture photography * Film or movie, a series of still images that create the illusion of a moving image ** Film industry, the technological and commercial institutions of filmmaking ...

located in

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland, which opened in 1979. It was home to the world's oldest continually running film festival,

Edinburgh International Film Festival The Edinburgh International Film Festival (EIFF) is a film festival that runs for two weeks in June each year. Established in 1947, it is the world's oldest continually running film festival. EIFF presents both UK and international films (all ti ...

. The cinema closed in October 2022 when its parent body went into administration.

History

The building that housed the Filmhouse was erected in 1831 as United Presbyterian Church (later United Free Church), designed by the architect

David Bryce David Bryce FRSE FRIBA RSA (3 April 1803 – 7 May 1876) was a Scottish architect. Life Bryce was born at 5 South College Street in Edinburgh, the son of David Bryce (1763–1816) a grocer with a successful side interest in buildi ...

in a Neoclassical villa style. It later became St. Thomas's

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

. 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. 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. Starting in 2001, Edinburgh Filmhouse hosted the

Edinburgh Greek Festival The Edinburgh Greek Festival is a festival of Greek film and one of the cultural festivals in Edinburgh. Its organisation involves individuals from Southern Europe. It is an international festival that features mostly Greek films or films about ...

Running

Filmhouse was a trading name of

Centre for the Moving Image The Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) is a registered charity comprising Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh Filmhouse and, since April 2014, the Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen. Its stated aim is to "''provide a national focus for cu ...

(CMI), a registered charity which also incorporated the

Edinburgh Film Guild The Edinburgh Film Guild (EFG) is a film society based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded in 1929, it is notable as the oldest continuously running film society in the world. Summary The Edinburgh Film Guild is a community organization dedicated to pr ...

and

Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen Belmont Filmhouse was an arts cinema on Belmont Street, Aberdeen, Scotland which showed a mixture of films that generally would not be shown in a chain cinema and mainstream films. The cinema building is the property of Aberdeen City Council. ...

. Since its inception it hosted the

annually. The Filmhouse was a publicly funded

arthouse An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily ...

cinema. Its programme was varied, ranging from art-house and foreign cinema to mainstream and second run films seven days a week. The building included a cafe and bar. On 6 October 2022 the CMI went into

administration Administration may refer to: Management of organizations * Management, the act of directing people towards accomplishing a goal ** Administrative Assistant, traditionally known as a Secretary, or also known as an administrative officer, admini ...

and closed its operations including the Filmhouse while seeking buyers for its assets.

References

Cinemas in Edinburgh Former churches in Scotland {{UK-theat-struct-stub