Let’s hope for a happy ending at the Filmhouse - Kevin Buckle

It was a busy day in the shop on Thursday and I had not paid any attention to social media so it was a complete surprise when the author Gordon Legge came in the shop and broke the news that the charity behind the Filmhouse and the Edinburgh Film Festival had gone into administration.

I’ve not really had any dealings with the Filmhouse beyond occasionally attending a film but when I was asked to give developers advice when the council were selling their site at the top of King’s Stables Road there was a follow-up plan to sell or possibly redevelop the car park further down.

It was then that I was made aware that it had been the case for some time that the Filmhouse’s current location was thought to be impractical and a move somewhere nearby was considered the best solution.

Obviously the King’s Stables Road car park site ticked all the boxes and a purpose-built building seemed like a realistic solution. Of course bizarrely the car park was given Category B listed status in 2019 and all plans were dropped.

The charity behind the Filmhouse has gone into administration, forcing the cinema to close down

Plans to create a new home for the EIFF and the Filmhouse on Festival Square just yards away were announced in March 2020 but the Covid pandemic soon followed and the project faced opposition from heritage groups and had not gained planning permission.

The charity is one of the most heavily-subsidised arts organisations in Scotland receiving more than £1.7 million in annual grants with Creative Scotland alone providing more tha £1m.

The trustees’ statement said: "The charity is facing the perfect storm of sharply rising costs, in particular energy costs, alongside reduced trade due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis."

I do think we need to be wary of simply accepting these reasons behind the failure. There have been many issues from the number of shoppers on the high street to attendances at smaller gigs that were issues long before Covid struck but now claim to be victims of the pandemic when really all it did was accelerate problems that were already there.

There is no doubt that energy costs will be a factor but it has to be accepted that alongside other reasons there is maybe now just a reduced audience for what the Filmhouse is currently offering as people make choices about what they spend their money on.

It is always a tricky call to decide to subsidise what people should want rather than what they actually want and it is odd to think that vinyl has made a strong showing when confronted with streaming while such competition has so adversely affected cinema going especially with the rise of channeis like Netflix.

I have no knowledge of how well-managed or otherwise things have been but it has to be hoped that with so many jobs at stake and with such iconic names a rescue package can be put in place that doesn’t simply solve the problem by finding more money to throw at it.

Certainly the Filmhouse needs to engage with a younger audience but that may simply be too much to ask in a world dominated by Stranger Things.

Let’s just hope the Filmhouse finds a new viable home and the old building doesn’t become a Wetherspoons!