After three years, Edinburgh’s Filmhouse cinema is reopening to the public tomorrow, Friday 27 June.
A grassroots campaign of film fans, former staff, big names and industry workers managed to rescue the arthouse cinema on Lothian Road from the ruins of the Centre for the Moving Image Ltd back in October 2022.
Originally built in a converted church in 1978, the £2 million revamped cinema building will ensure it returns as a hub for film fans in Edinburgh.
Filmhouse now has four screens, where before there were three, with seating that offers extra comfort and legroom.
Screens range from the main cinema, Cinema 1, which has a capacity of 186 and 2 wheelchairs, to the smaller Screen 4 with a capacity of 24 which will allow for more varied programming and private rental.
The new Filmhouse also has a refurbished bar with seating for 100, a smaller box office desk, and reworked foyer space.
The Four Screens
Screen 1 has a capacity of 186 seats + 2 wheelchair spaces. The screen has Dual 35mm/70mm film projectors, 4K digital projection and 5.1 audio.
Screen 2 has a capacity of 70 seats + 1 wheelchair space. The screen has dual 35mm film projectors and can screen 2K digital projection with 5.1 audio
Screen 3 has a capacity of 57 + 2 wheelchair spaces. The screen has dual 35mm film projectors and a 16mm film projector and can screen 2K digital projection with 5.1 audio.
Soon to be unveiled Screen 4 will have a capacity of 22 + 1 wheelchair space and will include 2K digital projection and 5.1 audio
The completely refurbished Filmhouse Bar will be able to seat 100 people for lunch and dinner, with drinks available throughout the day, with an emphasis on produce from Edinburgh and Scotland, with the promise of “great” food (including the cinema’s popular nachos) and drink.
Filmhouse’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.
Three Years in the Making
Following its closure in October 2022, the reopening of Filmhouse marks the culmination of a three-year long campaign to save the historic cinema backed by film lovers in Edinburgh, Scotland, and around the world and by A-list film talent including patrons Jack Lowden and Charlotte Wells, as well as Dougray Scott, Brian Cox, and Emma Thompson.
Filmhouse will re-open its doors with a hand-picked programme of the very best films the cinema missed out on playing during the venue’s two-and-a-half-year closure. The programme will have a strong emphasis on films that did not screen in the city because of its absence. Tickets are on sale now via the Filmhouse website.
Filmhouse has long been celebrated as a cultural cornerstone, showcasing world cinema in all its brilliance and diversity, from crowd-pleasing favourites to avant-garde arthouse works, restored classics, and curated retrospectives.
The first film to welcome audiences back to the venue will be the much-loved film gem and ode to the beauty of the cinemagoing experience, Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988).