Funding hope for Filmhouse and film festival bids

Efforts to bring back the Edinburgh International Film Festival and the Filmhouse cinema are set to be boosted under plans to protect millions of pounds of crucial culture funding in the city.

Councillors are set to approve £4.5 million worth of backing for festivals, events, venues and arts organisations.

The Edinburgh International Festival, the Fringe, the Traverse, Lyceum and Festival Theatres, the Queen's Hall and Dance Base are among those expected to be supported.

However the council is also expected to approve grants to kickstart the revival of both the film festival and the Filmhouse cinema, after the financial collapse of their operator in 2022.

The film festival is due to return in August in a new format which will include a prize for best feature film backed by the family of the late Sir Sean Connery, a long-time patron. Plans for the new-look EIFF have been led by film producer Andrew Macdonald, the chair of its board, and festival director Paul Ridd.

Meanwhile a four-strong team of former Filmhouse staff are trying to raise at least £1.25m for a refurbishment of the Lothian Road building, which closed suddenly when the Centre for the Moving Image went into administration.

Although at least half of that funding is now in place, a fundraising deadline was recently extended from the end of this month until the end of April as the results of various applications for support are expected to be known before then.

The latest £40,000 contribution from the council for the EIFF and the Filmhouse will bring the tally committed in recent months to £100,000. The International Festival is expected to receive the biggest grant, around £1.9m, while the £75,000 for the Fringe is expected to help pay for the running of its street events.