Cover photo: Emilija Morrison.
To young people, the opportunities offered by the Edinburgh Film Festival and the Filmhouse were really quite extraordinary. Kids as young as fifteen were getting the chance to attend all sorts of glitzy film events with stars. Some remember having a day at school, changing in the school bathroom, then heading onto a red carpet with school bag in tow. Glimpsing the likes of Saoirse Ronan and Kelly Macdonald at the opening night film, feeling rather ridiculous with homework in their bags.
“It just felt so fancy and it made me feel the filmmaking world is actually accessible. Because we were able to be just in amongst actors like Kelly Macdonald,” says Beth Lindsay, a former young programmer.
“It’s just kind of mad to let us into opening night and closing night parties, it’s just pretty wild they would allow us to do that. It shows how much respect we were earning through being a part of the festival,” says Mark Carnochan. He was heavily involved as both a young programmer and later as part of the youth advisory group.
“We’re going to take these really young kids, like sixteen to nineteen… We’re going to let them lead Q and As with major guests we have at the festival.”
Mark, who has written for the likes of Little White Lies, says writing film reviews through the Filmhouse really helped him get into film criticism.
“We would watch these short films, feature films too sometimes. And we would have to discuss them and critique them… You had to look at it through a critical frame and you had to be able to kind of hold your own in terms of critiquing these things, so I think it actually helped me a lot when it came to film criticism.”
Indeed, up until 2022, the Filmhouse was a nurturing ground for the next generation of film critics, filmmakers and film programmers. Through initiatives such as young programmers and the youth advisory group, teenagers were able to have an influential role within the film festival. When the Filmhouse closed in 2022, this meant that some of these opportunities for young people disappeared. Of course, it wasn’t just young people impacted by the closure. Those across Scotland felt the impact massively, the Filmhouse as it was being such an iconic Edinburgh institution with a unique, varied film programme.
Unsurprisingly, there were very many who were keen for the cinema to return. Ginnie Atkinson and James Rice are two core members of the team bringing the Filmhouse back.
James explains how a meeting at the pub sparked the idea to do something about saving the cinema. “We all knew each other from before because we were all long-term staff at the Filmhouse and the festival. And so you know when the organisation shut – when CMI collapsed – of course that was something we all cared very much about,” says James.
Ginnie says it was a long, complicated process. “The first thing we could possibly do – raise enough money to buy the building. But that didn’t work out. And then it turned out the people who did buy it initially didn’t want to follow through because they couldn’t get an alcohol license. So we found out who had bought it after them and approached them. And said ‘would you consider leasing it?’”
In the two years since, they have made plans for a new Filmhouse that will be, according to Ginnie, “more appealing, more comfortable”. Instead of the three cinema screens of the past, they will have four. They will do work on the café, too, ensuring it will be a buzzy, busy place that will attract even those who aren’t there to watch a film.
Support from public figures such as Emma Thompson, Jack Louden and Charlotte Wells has helped the campaign gain even more momentum.
Ginnie explains the process of getting them involved. “We had somebody who did a lot of work with people like Emma Thompson and Timothy Spall and so she was able to ask them directly. That’s the secret. You have to be able to get to these people directly than through their agents and everything. And so that was good. And Jack Louden we got through to through the Scottish Youth Film Foundation.”
Louden in particular had a special connection to the cinema, being a regular there alongside his partner Saoirse Ronan.
Through connections they were also able to obtain the support of Charlotte Wells, director of the much-loved – and now cult film – “Aftersun”. She was important to have on board as she had first learned the ropes of filmmaking through the Filmhouse’s SKAMM (Scottish Kids Are Making Movies.) The success of her debut feature film – a Cannes premiere, great critical acclaim – shows the potential of the Filmhouse to breed the next filmmaking talent.
When the Filmhouse reopens, the team are keen to bring back such youth initiatives.
They can’t confirm quite yet what will be put in place. An education officer needs to be hired first. But once they do, they have great hopes for the likes of filmmaking activities and young programmers to return.
“It’s absolutely critical that Filmhouse be interactive and engaging with young people really from as soon as possible,” says James.
Ginnie notes other organisations helping youngsters get into film. “So we would be working hopefully with Creative Scotland, Screen Scotland. Screen Education is very established and doing lots of really good things. Scottish Youth Film Foundation. There are lots of organisations that are very practically involved with screen education. And we might have something else to offer within that mix.”
As an aspiring filmmaker, Beth is excited for the future of the Filmhouse. “When it reopens I’d definitely like to get involved with it again. I’d like to see those learning opportunities for young people… the Filmhouse was a great gateway to more like the festival world and distribution and film critique and things like that. And I think it really can’t be replaced.”
