Future of Scotland's mobile cinema is 'in the balance' warns Hollywood star Alan Cumming

Dornie in Wester Ross is among the locations visited by the Screen Machine service. Picture: Iain MacColl

Hollywood and Broadway star Alan Cumming is at the forefront of a new campaign warning Scotland could lose its mobile cinema after more than 25 years - until vital funding is secured.

The Perthshire born actor’s voice is featured on a new short film raising the alarm that some of Scotland's "most cinematic places" could be left without access to their “cultural lifeline” in future.

The Screen Machine service, which normally visits about 40 remote mainland and island communities, could be forced off the road in just over 18 months unless a new £1.7m vehicle is ordered before the end of this year.

A mobile has been brought in to Scotland from France to ensure Scotland's Screen Machine service is kept on the road until 2026. Picture: David Redshaw

Its operator, Regional Screen Scotland, is having to rely on the hire of a mobile cinema from a French company which is unsuitable for all the locations which normally play host to screenings.

The new campaign is aimed at raising the funding to commission a “bespoke” new Screen Machine which is hoped to secure the future of the service until at least the 2040s.

The service is thought to have covered more than 250,000 miles since it was launched in 1998 thanks to a partnership between Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the then Scottish Film Council, and the then Highland Regional Council.

Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull, is among the locations visited by Scotland's Screen Machine service. Picture: Iain MacColl

The Scottish Government is being asked to meet at least half of the estimated cost of a new vehicle, which is expected to take up to 18 months to build and kit out, but has yet to commit to the project.

Regional Screen Scotland has warned that the Screen Machine service will be brought to a halt by April 2026 unless work on the new vehicle starts within the next few months, with at least £800,000 needing to be secured before it can be commissioned.

Glen Docherty in the Highlands is among the locations visited by Scotland's Screen Machine service. Picture: David Redshaw

A public crowdfunder is up running with the hope of raising at least £100,000 from the Screen Machine’s supporters.

The previous Screen Machine vehicle, which was used for 17 years, had to be retired in January 2023 after being branded “no longer fit for purpose” due to its increasing unreliability.

However the Scottish Government agency Screen Scotland has since funded the lease of a “Cinemobile” from the French firm Toutenkamion, which built the previous Screen Machine machine, which is currently parked up on the Isle of Skye.

Mr Cumming, whose screen roles include Goldeneye, Emma, The Good Wife, X2, Battle of the Sexes and My Old School, agreed to donate his services for the Screen Machine film, along with the Scottish folk-pop band Tide Lines, whose music is used.

Speaking on the new Screen Machine film, Mr Cumming says: “We open on the Highlands and Islands of Scotland, where the Screen Machine has brought the latest movies to over 40 rural communities for 26 years.

"This mobile filmhouse is a vital service, a cultural lifeline, delivering edge-of-the-seat entertainment and unforgettable shared experience.

"But our most cinematic places are in danger of losing their only cinema.

"Today's Screen Machine has no tomorrow. It's too temporary, too costly, and cannot fit on every ferry. We need a sequel, a more reliable, comfortable and sustainable vehicle capable of reaching every community. Without it, the Screen Machine's future is in the balance.”

Other key Screen Machine supporters have included the award-winning actress Dame Judi Dench, who has urged the government to secure the future of the service. The FirstStage Studios complex in Leith, which helped pay for specially-designed rollers to be fitting to the on-loan Cinémobile to allow it to visit more island locations this summer after they had to be left off the Screen Machine schedule for at least 12 months.

A spokeswoman for Regional Screen Scotland said: “Cinemobiles are brilliant, and similar to the Screen Machine, but not the same.

“They are not designed to be opened and closed every few days, they cannot navigate ferries and slipways as ably as Screen Machine, and they cannot get to all our communities. A Cinemobile is simply not a long-term solution.

"The new Screen Machine (SM3) will have excellent green credentials. Whereas the Cinemobile uses a diesel generator for its heat and power and is our main source of emissions, SM3 will use rechargeable batteries that will charge during the day via the solar panels on the cinema roof and by the truck’s alternator while driving.

"We estimate it will produce only a quarter of the Co2 emissions compared to a diesel-powered generator.”

The spokeswoman said Regional Screen Scotland was still “hopeful” that the government would agreed to help fund a new Screen Machine.

She added: “A new Screen Machine will take between 12 and 18 months to build. We need approximately £800,000 to commission the build.

"It is vital that we raise the initial funds to get the project started this year. We now cannot afford to wait for a Scottish Government response. 

"We have launched a crowdfunding campaign to raise at least £100,000 to get the project rolling.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise have committed 25 per cent of the total as match funding to other sources, and we are fundraising from trusts, foundations and other grant programmes too.”

Simon Drysdale, interim chief executive officer of Regional Screen Scotland, said: “The popularity of the Screen Machine service is beyond doubt.

"Over the summer we’ve seen excellent numbers of customers come along to enjoy the big screen experience in their local communities. What is very much in doubt is the future of the service.

"The launch of a campaign to raise £100,000 from supporters is intended to push potential major funders, including the Scottish Government, into action before this precious resource is lost.”

Screen Scotland, the national government-funded film and TV body, has described the Screen Machine as a “vital and much-loved service" and pledged to work with Regional Screen Scotland and other partners to advocate for a “full replacement to secure the service for the next generation.”

A government spokesman said: “The Scottish Government understands the unique cultural contribution that the Screen Machine makes to communities who otherwise would struggle to visit the cinema.

“This year, Screen Scotland was able to provide additional funding of £350,000 to extend the lease of the temporary service until April 2026. 

“The Scottish Government is continuing to engage with Screen Scotland and Regional Screen Scotland to explore all viable options to deliver a sustainable service beyond April 2026.”