There is good news from the charity Filmhouse (Edinburgh) who have received a major boost of £299,000 from Screen Scotland towards their goal to OPEN THE DOORS.
The total raised to date is now £500,000 and the charity aims to raise £1,250,000 by the end of February 2024 from a range of backers. This would allow Filmhouse to enter into a long lease with the owners Caledonian Heritable who bought the building from the liquidators.
Filmhouse Crowdfunding has raised more than £160,000 with donations from 1,850 supporters and the total keeps rising. If you wish to donate then you will find the Crowdfunder here.
A Filmhouse (Edinburgh) spokesperson said: “We have been deeply moved by the huge groundswell of support shown by supporters from Edinburgh and around the world. The strength of feeling is clear; Edinburgh needs a world-class cinematheque. Screen Scotland’s support represents a significant commitment to and endorsement of our plans, and another huge step in realising the dream of reopening Filmhouse.
“As the Crowdfunder is an excellent way for people to donate whether it be £5 or £5000 we have taken the decision to extend the deadline to the end of January 2024.”
Isabel Davis, Executive Director at Screen Scotland said: “Filmhouse is the iconic centre of cinema culture in Edinburgh, providing a uniquely diverse cinema programme which celebrates film from around the world and from its rich history. Screen Scotland is supporting the return of this vital venue and organisation; one which provides a nurturing home for myriad film festivals, a hub for film education, a home to a community of film lovers and filmmakers and an important cultural resource for the cinema-going public. Screen Scotland is proud to assist with
the hoped for revival of this cinematic haven. Its return would signify not just the reopening of a cinema, but the return of a vital home for the artform.”
Filmhouse traded until the parent charity Centre for the Moving Image fell into administration in October 2022. The plan is to reopen a standalone Edinburgh Filmhouse with café to support it showing all the brilliant cultural films that Filmhouse used to – and new ones too.
Filmhouse (Edinburgh) Limited was formed in late December 2022 by four former Filmhouse colleagues:
James Rice, former programme manager and now a cinema strategist at
specialist consultancy Mustard Studio;
Rod White, former Head of Programming;
David
Boyd, former Head of Technical;
and
Ginnie Atkinson, former CEO of Filmhouse and Edinburgh International Film Festival until 2010.
https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/filmhouse-open-the-doors
Founding Editor of The Edinburgh Reporter.
Edinburgh-born multimedia journalist and iPhoneographer.
