Filmhouse fundraiser with S!nk to Open the Doors

The Edinburgh improvisation group S!nk will perform their live soundtrack to the documentary film Nanook of the North at a fundraiser for Filmhouse on 10 December.

As the crowdfunder creeps up past £161,000 with a target of £250,000 still in sight to open the doors at Filmhouse, the Edinburgh group (which includes Matt Wright, otherwise of Pianodrome fame) will perform at Summerhall. INDY Cinema Group will donate their projection services and tickets are available from Summerhall Box Office.

S!nk were originally commissioned by Filmhouse to devise and perform this score as part of a special partnership when the group created a suite of new soundtracks to masterpieces of cinema from The Adventures of Prince Achmed to Faust.

Nanook of the North is one of the most pivotal films in cinema history. Robert Flaherty’s 1922 filmic examination of Inuit culture – shown through the lives of the titular character and his family in the icy Canadian Arctic frontier – came at a time when the concept of ‘documentary’ film didn’t yet exist.

Filmhouse is at a crossroads. The company was plunged into liquidation last year when the parent charity Centre for the Moving Image fell into administration. Then the building was put up for sale and Caledonian Heritable bought it for £2.65 million. Caledoninan Heritable are working on the property just now to make it wind and watertight.

The company has agreed to lease it to a new company. Filmhouse (Edinburgh) Ltd set up by Directors Ginnie Atkinson, James Rice, Rod White, and Mike Davidson. All of those behind the new enterprise have at one time worked for Filmhouse.

But while the crowdfunder continues the new entity will need around £250,000 to open the doors, before then raising further sums of around £1.25 million to conduct renovations to the property and allow it to reopen as a cinema with a café.

James Rice said: “We’re making great progress on the fundraising but there’s still a way to go. It’s brilliant that S!nk have stepped forward to produce this marvellous event, which is a great example of the kind of unique film presentation that Filmhouse specialises in bringing to Edinburgh audiences. We’re grateful to them for giving the campaign this boost.”

S!nk are a trio of musical inventors, multi-instrumentalists and improvisors who have been performing in Edinburgh for over a decade. They compose music on the spot, realising rough-hewn instrumental explorations which open out into rich landscapes of sound. They are the creators of the Pianodrome – the world’s first amphitheatre made entirely from up-cycled pianos, which has evolved into an iconic symbol of community and cultural resilience in Scotland’s capital.

Matt Wright (S!nk) said: “The Filmhouse is an essential part of Edinburgh’s creative landscape – without hubs like these cities cannot thrive culturally. S!nk want to recognise the support the Filmhouse gave us through 8 years of collaboration, by offering all proceeds from the show to their campaign. Help Filmhouse OPEN THE DOORS.”

Donate to the Crowdfunder here.

Click on the image below to buy tickets.