Open The Doors

The Scotsman

Open The Doors - a short film on the closure of Edinburgh's Filmhouse and the campaign to reopen the cinema, by 'Lumination' director Perry J. O'Halloran.

Transcript

00:00 Film house and everything it was to us isn't there at this point in time.

00:05 It's gone.

00:06 Gone.

00:07 If I was to go down there, what would I see?

00:10 A boarded up building at the moment.

00:12 Er, yeah.

00:14 Film house is closed.

00:16 We've lost our place to go.

00:20 [Silence]

00:40 It was, yeah, it was gut wrenching.

00:49 It was, for like-minded people, an area that everyone could go to

00:53 and not feel alone, even if they didn't know anybody else.

00:57 It had multiple functions.

00:59 Meeting place, you know, for business meetings and things like that.

01:02 And now...

01:04 [Silence]

01:09 A much bigger cinema ecosystem that you don't necessarily see

01:13 will be affected by this as well.

01:15 You see the people front of house, you see the people actually working there,

01:17 but there's also the people who are making films, up-and-coming filmmakers,

01:20 whose films won't have the venue to be shown in the same way,

01:23 won't reach the audience in the same way, and that really matters.

01:27 Community is one of the most important things in your own well-being and mental health.

01:34 That's why these spaces are needed.

01:36 I think that's why cinemas as well can be this place for people.

01:42 People who came because they valued the fact that the cafe

01:45 was one of the few places in Edinburgh where you didn't play loud music,

01:49 it was quite brightly lit, so it was a very accessible space.

01:51 Lots of kids who are at schools would come there to see things

01:54 because they had linked programmes with the schools.

01:57 And for many of those kids, particularly from more disadvantaged parts of Edinburgh,

02:01 that was their first exposure to any sort of cinema experience other than a multi-chain.

02:05 And there was young filmmakers' programmes as well as part of the education programme.

02:09 So that was all there.

02:11 For me, it has always been this feeling that I just felt at home,

02:16 like feeling welcomed and not being judged based on maybe what you were wearing

02:21 or what you were doing, or, you know, these kind of things.

02:24 In a place like an independent cinema closes, there's a real sense of community,

02:27 there's a group of people who go there and treasure it for so much more

02:32 than the films that are being shown on the screen.

02:34 It's the sort of companionship they get from getting to know the staff,

02:38 the people they meet there.

02:39 It was a wonderful place, and especially for Blowins like myself,

02:43 an artery for everybody in Edinburgh to come to, whether or not they go to see a film

02:49 or just want to have somewhere to meet their friends.

02:52 The cinema is a hub for everyone, everyone who likes watching films

02:57 or is a film lover, or not even, like maybe just like going from time to time.

03:03 But also there's so many filmmakers, the cinema is so important for the filmmakers

03:08 to survive.

03:09 The other thing that Filmhouse was doing was Filmhouse was home to lots and lots

03:13 of smaller film festivals.

03:15 Without that I would not be working in film exhibition, I wouldn't be working in cinemas,

03:19 I wouldn't be working in film festivals right now.

03:22 And that opportunity has been lost for somebody who was just like me ten years ago.

03:27 [train passing]

03:34 [door opening]

03:38 [door closing]

03:39 [door opening]

03:40 [door closing]

03:41 [train passing]

03:55 I was thinking a lot about the train spotting screen I went to a good couple of years ago.

03:59 35mm printed train spotting, just seeing the kind of wear and tear to it and just

04:05 seeing it on the big screen, just with the phenomenal equipment and talent they have

04:10 there putting this on.

04:11 It was just, you know, pretty spectacular seeing that kind of very iconic Edinburgh film

04:18 in one of the most iconic cinemas in Edinburgh, if not the country.

04:24 [music playing]

04:38 This cinema was where I got my film education from.

04:41 Not only did they show the films, they had education courses.

04:45 So they changed the whole way I understood cinema.

04:48 I found that people like Agnes Varga and things like that,

04:52 no one knew anything about that when I was growing up.

04:55 And then you found out so much about movies and also about other ways of seeing the world.

05:00 When you watch international films, you get introduced to a different culture

05:05 and that totally changes your mindset about life, basically.

05:10 That was entirely groundbreaking for me.

05:13 I'd never seen anything like that. Totally blew my mind.

05:16 I honestly think if it hadn't been for the Filmhouse, we wouldn't be a couple.

05:20 It wouldn't have happened without the Filmhouse, I don't think.

05:23 There's always something that can be done, especially by coming together,

05:27 finding a way to reopen, finding a way to go forward.

05:32 Filmhouse was its own thing and it did so much more than being a cinema.

05:37 And I think that's what made Filmhouse special.

05:39 It was just the place to learn and grow and develop.

05:43 I mean, the amount of filmmakers who, from Edinburgh and Scotland,

05:47 who probably owe their careers to Filmhouse, it's staggering.

05:53 And to know that that's been lost for a new filmmaker,

05:57 a new person wanting to work in cinema, it's devastating.

06:01 It feels like you've lost a part of yourself.

06:05 And I think Edinburgh has lost a part of itself.

06:08 And it's lost something which I think, maybe now we're just seeing a building be lost,

06:13 but I think if something isn't done about it,

06:17 we'll see a lot of generations losing that opportunity

06:20 to be involved with film, whatever that may be.

06:24 Since opening its doors in the late 1970s,

06:30 the Edinburgh Filmhouse has meant so much to so many.

06:34 Not just for its screenings and unique events,

06:37 but for the connections, the friendships and the lifelong relationships

06:41 made both on and off these screens.

06:44 Now, right now, is your opportunity to save a cinema.

06:49 The Filmhouse can and will reopen.

06:52 All it needs is a bit of help from its friends.

06:55 If everyone watching this gives a little, it will realistically mean a lot.

07:00 Not just to Edinburgh and the supporters who already love the Filmhouse,

07:03 but for the communities, the visitors and the countless generations of filmmakers

07:08 who've yet to come here.

07:09 It is time once more to open the doors.

07:12 It should never have closed, we all know this.

07:14 These doors should not be shut.

07:16 Let's open the doors. Mon o'house.

07:18 Keep those doors open and let the Filmhouse thrive.

07:23 We know the Filmhouse will rise again.

07:25 Open the doors.

07:28 Get the doors open again.

07:30 Keep the doors open.

07:32 Let's open the doors.

07:33 Open the doors.

07:35 Open those doors.

07:37 Open the doors.

07:45 Even if it's only the price of a pint,

07:47 please give whatever you can to the crowdfunder

07:49 and together we will open the doors.

07:52 [Music plays]

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