I was one of the first people back inside Edinburgh's Filmhouse - I'll never take it for granted again

Alistair Grant caught one of the first showings in the newly refurbished Edinburgh Filmhouse on Lothian Road.

I fell in love with the Filmhouse as a student, fresh-faced and new to Edinburgh. It was everything I wanted in a cinema and more.

Over the years, I’ve seen countless movies within its walls, from the latest releases to cult classics and undisputed masterpieces. It’s hard to pick a single highlight, but I’ll never forget experiencing Lawrence of Arabia on 70mm.

In 2012, I volunteered at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, helping to man the small, dark room within the building where critics and others could catch any films they might have missed.

Cinema One in the Filmhouse | Kat Gollock

I probably saw more movies that summer than was physically good for me. It was glorious.

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The following year, I wrote a piece for The Guardian’s “cine-files” series, which allowed readers to wax lyrical about cinemas close to their hearts.

The Filmhouse, I insisted, was “something increasingly precious” - a cinema that catered shamelessly for cinephiles and wasn’t afraid to take risks.

“Upstairs, Cinema One boasts one of the best screens in all of Edinburgh, with a red-curtained cosiness harking back to a lost age of cinematic glamour and old-fashioned, starry-eyed movie mystery,” I wrote, in slightly overenthusiastic student prose.

(L-R) Filmhouse programme director Rod White and executive director Andrew Simpson inside cinema one. Picture: Andrew O'Brien/The Scotsman | Andrew O'Brien

All this is to say I was devastated when it shut in October 2022. It felt like a body blow, and a depressing sign of the times.

I was lucky enough to be in a position to contribute some money to the fundraiser, and the decision to do so was a no-brainer. That the Filmhouse is now re-opening on Friday after more than two-and-a-half years feels like something close to a miracle.

On Wednesday evening, I attended one of the first screenings in the newly refurbished venue, for those who had donated a certain amount. It was very special to be back in Cinema One, among all that red-curtained cosiness and starry-eyed movie mystery.

The film on the big screen? Cinema Paradiso.

For those who love the Filmhouse, it is mostly just as you remember it, but more modern and with comfier seats.

Andrew O'Brien

The cafe and bar area remains the kind of place you can lose an afternoon in. My only plea is that they bring back the DVDs and Blu-rays for sale at the front.

I can’t wait to see countless more films within its walls. I’ll never take its existence for granted again. Long live cinema.