Edinburgh’s Filmhouse – a long-time hub for the Edinburgh International Film Festival – will re-open later this month.

The venue closed in 2022 when the Centre For The Moving Image – which operated both the cinema and the Film Festival – fell into administration. The Film Festival properly returned last year after running as a strand of the Edinburgh International Festival in 2023.

A campaign to save the Filmhouse began as soon as it has closed its doors, resulting in the Open The Doors! crowdfunding initiative. The building was acquired by Caledonian Heritable, which owns a number of pubs and bars in Edinburgh, which then negotiated a 25 year lease with a group of former Filmhouse staff.

Announcing the re-opening of the cinema earlier this month, an official statement says, “following a £2 million refurbishment, Filmhouse returns with new leadership, a vision which builds on the venue’s legacy as a space for learning and discovery, and a commitment to building a sustainable future for this iconic cultural landmark”.

In terms of the new leadership’s plans for the venue, they say they will continue the cinema’s eclectic approach to programming, adding, “Filmhouse has long been celebrated as a cultural cornerstone, showcasing world cinema in all its brilliance and diversity, from crowd-pleasing favourites and family films to avant-garde arthouse works, restored classics, and curated retrospectives”. 

The cinema will also “once again partner with many of Scotland’s film festivals”, including the Edinburgh Spanish Film Festival, Take One Action, Edinburgh Short Film Festival and Iberodocs Film Festival “amongst others”. It also hopes to screen National Theatre Live events and the live Metropolitan Opera broadcasts.

The official statement then adds, “details of Filmhouse’s involvement with this year’s Edinburgh International Film Festival are yet to be announced”. The full programme for this year’s Film Festival is due to be launched on 2 Jul.