A petition has been started following news that Edinburgh Filmhouse was to close with immediate effect yesterday, October 6.
The Centre for the Moving Image announced it had ceased trading on Thursday, leading to the sudden closure of Edinburgh International Film Festival, the Filmhouse and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen, and 102 staff members lost their jobs.
The Edinburgh International Film Festival was established in 1947, making it the world’s oldest continually running film festival with the beloved Filmhouse making a name for itself showing independent and Scottish films.
READ MORE- Loved Edinburgh Filmhouse cinema and Edinburgh Film Festival enter administration
A petition has since been created by Paul Sng, in a bid to save the establishment and within just three hours of it being live, it has gained 833 signatures at the time of writing. As of October 12, the petition has gained 18,550 supporters and it continues to grow. You can see more information about the petition here.
Mr Sng commented: "The Filmhouse and Belmont are core venues to countless independent Scottish and UK film festivals and independent exhibitors throughout the year, without which screening their cultural cinema programmes in Edinburgh and Aberdeen would not be possible.
"The Filmhouse and Belmont went to great lengths to make films accessible to all, including many captioned screenings, screenings with audio description, baby and carer days, senior selections as well as generous discounts for students and others who would normally struggle to afford or hear/see/access films.
"With the loss of the Filmhouse cafe, Edinburgh also loses an accessible, city centre community space used by many different people who will struggle to find similar alternatives.
"EIFF, Filmhouse, and the Belmont are pivotal to U.K. film culture and provide vital support for independent filmmakers. The absence of all will result in the loss of a vital cultural film programme that has nourished and nurtured film audiences for decades."
He added: "We must save them before it's too late.
"Until more details are clear about how a path forward is possible, we are signing to declare our support for the organisations, the staff and the culture of these three cinematic institutions, and to lend our collective power to any steps that may reverse the effects of this decision."
The support for the petition is continuing to grow with hundreds voicing their support.
One wrote: "These independent cinemas are a vital part of our identity and communities! This is a vital resource for all ages, incomes, beliefs where we come together, independently, in groups, to experience enrichment, feed our passions, lose ourselves in fantasy world, have thought provoking dialogues open up, develop beautiful familial times and memories!
"Big cinemas aren't cutting it with a wide proportion of us who seek a little something more, a little something different, something we would not usually get an opportunity to experience in some cases, it's unique, vital and part of us, that's why we should keep and save, and protect it as well as support by independent means!"
A second added: "This is a terrible blow to the creative industries and also a sad loss off cinema and jobs."
And a third commented: "Edinburgh without The Filmhouse is unthinkable. It is an essential part of the city's cultural landscape and one of the most accessible."
Yesterday, when questioned, Nicola Sturgeon said her Government will do all it can to support the “important cultural organisations”.
Addressing the announcement from CMI during First Minister’s Questions on Thursday, she said the closures are of “huge concern” and will leave many “profoundly upset”.
The Scottish Government will do “everything possible” to support the impacted organisations, she added.
In a statement, the CMI board said: “We have been proud to have led the CMI through incredibly challenging times, and in particular during the worst days of the pandemic.
“Unfortunately, the combination of sharply increasing energy and other costs, together with both the lasting impacts of the pandemic and the rapidly emerging cost-of-living crisis affecting cinema attendances, means that we have had no other option but to appoint administrators at this time.
“We would like to put on record our immense gratitude to the entire staff team whose passion for film as an art form and for the audiences and communities we work with and serve has remained undented by the challenges of recent years.
“We’re fully aware that this will be an exceptionally stressful time for them.”
You can see more information about the petition here.
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