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.
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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]