London’s Prince Charles Cinema Set To Launch Bid To Revive Edinburgh Filmhouse – The crew behind the Prince Charles Cinema, an independent theater in London’s West End, will soon undertake an effort to revive the Edinburgh Filmhouse, which closed its doors recently owing to financial troubles. Gregory Lynn, a native of Scotland who has co-run the Prince Charles Cinema for twenty years, is leading the bid, which the company says is completely costed and fully funded and will be submitted on December 7th.
The bid includes plans to buy the Filmhouse building and carry out considerable improvements after comprehensive assessments revealed that the structure has fallen into substantial disrepair. The Prince Charles Cinema team reported having “positive conversations” with Edinburgh City Council, Creative Scotland, Screen Scotland, and the Edinburgh Film Guild, with whom they presented their vision for the cinema.
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Additionally, the team has confirmed that the cinema will once again host the Edinburgh International Film Festival. Screen Scotland stated last week that it has acquired the intellectual property rights to the Edinburgh International Film Festival and initiated an evaluation period to determine the viability of hosting a film festival in Edinburgh in 2023.
The festival, Edinburgh Filmhouse, and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen ceased operations in October following the appointment of administrators by the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) trustees. A statement from the CMI said a “perfect storm” of rising costs and falling admissions numbers due to the pandemic had been exacerbated by the current cost of living crisis. All three institutions ceased trading immediately.
Announcing the bid, Scottish native Lynn said: “Having grown up and now living around Edinburgh, the Filmhouse has always been a hugely important cultural and community landmark for cinema lovers. Our bid is a robust, viable route to bring it back to life as a thriving independent cinema.”
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He added: “As an experienced and successful independent cinema operator, we believe we are the best-qualified bidders with the funding, plan, and expertise to bring the Filmhouse back to its full glory, with top-notch facilities, a fantastic and highly varied program, full houses, and a secure future.”