A MUCH-LOVED Edinburgh cinema could return after a deal was struck between campaigners and the building’s new owners.
The Edinburgh Filmhouse closed suddenly in October 2022 after its parent company fell into administration.
Around 100 jobs were lost and uncertainty about the future use of building abounded, with many calling for it to be retained as a cinema.
It was sold to Caledonian Heritable – who also run other Edinburgh venues such as the Dome and the Theatre Royal – for £2.65 million in April this year.
Now, the company has agreed a six-month lease with the Filmhouse charity to allow it to fundraise and re-open.
It will then enter a 21-year lease to allow it operate as a cinema alongside a café bar.
Caledonian Heritable have already started to renovate parts of the building and will gift all the projection equipment to the Filmhouse charity, including customised analogue 35mm and 70mm projectors.
Charity bosses say they hope to raise £1.25 million and reopen the cinema sometime in 2024.
Ginnie Atkinson, the former CEO of the Filmhouse and Edinburgh International Film Festival until 2010, helped found the Filmhouse charity in 2022 with three other former colleagues.
She said: “This is a significant step on the journey towards restoring cultural cinema provision for the city. Filmhouse is more than just a cinema - it's a home for cinema lovers and for film festivals and is proud of its track record in the area of film education, which would continue.
"We are delighted to be able to launch the fundraising campaign with the goal of opening the doors to a newly refurbished cinema building in 2024."
A Caledonian Heritable spokesperson said: "Caledonian Heritable have a long-standing appreciation of the vital importance of culture and the arts to the city of Edinburgh.
"We are pleased to be working with Filmhouse, Creative Scotland and the City of Edinburgh Council in anticipation of a new era at this key cultural venue."
