The Filmhouse cinema is marking one year since its reopening with a series of birthday events celebrating “the big screen experience”.
Across the cinema’s first birthday weekend of 26-28 June and into July, Filmhouse will screen an extra special selection of films and events showcasing all that the cinema has to offer.
Stanley Kubrick’s seminal 2001 A Space Odyssey (1968) will screen from 5 June in 70mm alongside new cinematic visions screening in June including the darkly funny and eccentric new feature The Fall of Sir Douglas Weatherford from Edinburgh-born filmmaker Sean Robert Dunn starring Scottish screen legend Peter Mullan.
Other new films coming to the cinema soon include Steven Spielberg’s hotly anticipated Disclosure Day, Rohan Kanawade’s Cactus Pears and back on the big screen, Paul Thomas Anderson’s cult hit Boogie Nights.
The Filmhouse reopened in June 2025 after a three year campaign to save it from permanent closure. © Aly Wright
Audiences will also be treated to the first film that screened at the cinema when it reopened in June last year, Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988).
On 3 July, Filmhouse will present a special screening of Nic Roeg’s film Don’t Look Now followed by novelist Ian Rankin in conversation with writer Justin John Doherty to discuss Justin’s new book described as a “literary love letter” to the film, Don’t Look Now and Then.
The discussion will not only touch upon their mutual love for the film, but also the detective work behind putting this sort of book together, finding the people who were there 50 years ago and uncovering never-before-seen archive and images that were thought lost to time.
The cinema’s recently launched We’ve Got a Cinema and We’re Not Afraid to Use It strand will see members vote on classic films that they are most excited to see on the big screen alongside the Team Birthday Picks strand which showcases staff favourites as well as highlights from across the programme since the cinema’s doors reopened.
Across the birthday weekend, cineastes can also get a glimpse into the hallowed ground of the Filmhouse’s projection boxes and there will be evening birthday party celebrations with live music.
There will also be discounts on food and drink over the birthday weekend to coincide with the launch of a new menu in the Filmhouse Bar Café.
Exclusive rewards will also run up to and across the birthday weekend for Filmhouse members, including the chance to be entered into a draw to win a Filmhouse lifetime membership.
Special themed children’s screenings, craft activities, family face painting and games will also take place.
Filmhouse reopened to the public on 27 June 2025 after a three-year campaign to save the cinema backed by film lovers in Scotland and around the world and by A-list film talent including Dougray Scott, Brian Cox, and Emma Thompson.
Built in a repurposed church on Edinburgh’s Lothian Road, Filmhouse has been a cinematic landmark since 1978.
Following a £2m refurbishment, the independent cinema reopened under new leadership and a vision for building on the venue’s legacy as a space for learning and discovery.
Andrew Simpson, executive director of Filmhouse, said: “The first year of the new Filmhouse has been quite a ride.
“Since June 2025, 125,000 people have sat down to watch a film here, and more than 200,000 have walked through the doors of our building.
“Re-establishing Filmhouse as a place for people to meet, socialise, eat and drink, enjoy themselves, and most thrillingly of all, experience the magic of cinema in all its forms has been a very special experience for all of us here.
“We welcomed the public back to the new Filmhouse ten days after finishing the first part of a huge refurbishment project, with a lot of work, including the opening of the brand-new screen four, carrying on after we had opened the doors.
“That we’ve delivered an enormously varied programme of films, events, educational work, and hosted dozens of festivals is a massive testament to our team, all the people we work with, and our brilliant audience.
“We’ve got lots of things we want to improve and build upon, and we’ve got big ambitions for the future.
“The first birthday celebrations are an important marker for us on that journey, and we want to take the opportunity to say a huge thank you to everyone who has supported us over the past year, and to extend an invitation to those who are yet to try out Filmhouse, by inviting you all to party with us in June.
“There’s something for everyone, and it’s going to be a lot of fun, and we hope to see you there (we’ll bring the cake). Cinema lives. ‘mon the hoose!”
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