Save Filmhouse Cinema

Hello everyone,

Firstly, huge thanks to all the new donors who have come on board in the last few days to support Filmhouse. We’re making progress and each donation genuinely makes a difference.

The closing date for the sale of the property is next Wednesday, 7th December; so we’re getting down to the wire.  We have been pushing on every door we can think of to try to recruit support from major donors, as well as speaking with colleagues at the funder and political level.  A number of highly experienced people are lending their time and expertise to help this effort. Time is very short, though, and as of today the outcome remains uncertain.

At present it seems unlikely that a single major donor will emerge to cover the bulk of the remaining requirement (i.e. beyond the crowdfunding total). Public funding is not going to be sufficient either, and the practicalities around securing a mortgage or loan in the available time make that impossible. The more realistic scenario currently being pursued is a sort of ‘club deal’ where several major donors (around the £200K–£300K mark) join forces, alongside this brilliant crowdfunding group, to provide the required capital in the first instance. This is not an unusual formula and many conversations are currently happening to try to engage such donors. We are raising the idea it here to make sure we have covered all the bases.

The main challenge here is the lack of time. Museums and galleries mostly have years to do capital funding, but because of the nature of the administration, the sale of Filmhouse building has had to happen very quickly. If we can secure the building next week we would launch a longer-term fundraising campaign and thus be able to reimburse any of the major donors who have committed in the short term to help us secure the building.

We need to explore every avenue. Do any of you have a line of communication to one or more individuals who might be willing to step in with a major donation as part of a group deal to save an essential element of Edinburgh’s cultural fabric, remembering it doubles as a critical place of learning and professional development for the screen sector?  If you do, please contact us directly on [email protected].

The contribution each of you has already made is an absolutely essential part of this, and it matters greatly that new supporters continue to contribute to the crowdfunder. Thank you, again.

Best,

James Rice