We must recognise the importance of a thriving cultural scene - Foysol Choudhury

Scotland, and Edinburgh, has much to offer in terms of culture. You only have to take a look at the city in the summer to see the wide offerings of the Fringe and Edinburgh International Festival, in addition to the Edinburgh International Film Festival formerly housed by the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), who also ran Edinburgh Filmhouse.

An image from the Oscar-winning film Moonlight, projected onto the Filmhouse in Edinburgh which is to reopen two years after it closed with the help of £1.5 million funding from the UK Government. Picture: Jane Barlow/PA Wire

When the Edinburgh Filmhouse sadly closed after CMI went into administration, Edinburgh lost a community lifeline and centre for cultural excellence, which promoted vibrant Scottish culture and film both at home and to visitors from across the globe.

We lost a valuable community asset which provided opportunities for expression and cultural revitalisation, as well as the development of new cultural film inspired by Scotland and Edinburgh’s diversity.

Film is not just entertainment – it can be a way of expressing ourselves, our history and our culture. It can be a way of expressing our values and inspiring action. Scotland, and Edinburgh, has so much to offer to not only provide this for local communities, but to also provide avenues for this tremendous culture and filmmaking industry to be promoted on the world cultural stage, positioning Scotland as a global leader in enriching the arts and culture scene.

That’s why the Edinburgh Filmhouse was such a great loss and that’s why it was so uplifting to see the hard work of local campaign groups in campaigning for the Filmhouse’s reopening.

We recently got the fantastic news that Filmhouse Edinburgh has been awarded £1.5 million from the UK Government Community Ownership Fund, which will hopefully allow them to re-open the Filmhouse doors. King’s Theatre in the City has also previously been awarded £2 million from the UK Government Community Ownership Fund and I look forward to seeing it revitalised as a community hub and made accessible, so that all in Edinburgh can enjoy a refreshed and vibrant cultural scene.

This is a demonstration of what could be achieved if sufficient Scottish Government funding was provided – community assets saved and the Scottish culture sector revitalised.

We must see sufficient Scottish Government funding given to Creative Scotland, including for Screen Scotland, so we can grow our screen sector and ensure diverse cinema which can be accessible for all, whether this be via venues, touring programmes or film festivals across Scotland.

Whilst Edinburgh Filmhouse and King’s Theatre have seen good news, we must see increased funding to support other important cultural hubs across the city, such as Leith Theatre.

We must begin to recognise the importance of culture, including our film and theatre industries, in ensuring a thriving Scottish cultural scene, including the social and cultural benefits and the economic support it can provide via the creative economy. Edinburgh is a city with a proud cultural sector – I hope to see more support thrown behind those campaigning to save it so we can see a sustainable future for culture in our city.

Foysol Choudhury is a Scottish Labour MSP for Lothian