Edinburgh Filmhouse


The Edinburgh Filmhouse is a cinema located in Edinburgh, Scotland, which opened in 1979. It is home to the world's oldest continually running film festival, Edinburgh International Film Festival.

History

The building that now houses the Filmhouse was originally erected in 1831 as United Presbyterian Church, designed by the architect David Bryce in a Neoclassical villa style. It later became St. Thomas's Church of Scotland.
The cinema began life when, in 1979, the disused St. Thomas Church building was converted into a 100-seat auditorium accessed via a side entrance on Morrison Street Lane. The front of the building was listed and remained inaccessible until in 1985 when a new 280 seat auditorium and bar were added and the front entrance opened. It is located in Lothian Road nearby the Usher Hall, Traverse and Lyceum Theatres.
In March 2020, it was announced that the Filmhouse had plans to build a new home for the cinema on Festival Square, next to its existing premises. This is a revival of a plan that failed to win backing in 2004.

Running

Filmhouse is a trading name of Centre for the Moving Image, a registered charity which also incorporates the Edinburgh International Film Festival, Edinburgh Film Guild and Belmont Filmhouse, Aberdeen.
Since its inception it has been host to the Edinburgh International Film Festival annually.
The Filmhouse is a publicly funded arthouse cinema. Its programme is varied, ranging from art-house and foreign cinema to mainstream and second run films seven days a week.
There is a cafe for pre-film food and drinks.