Screen Machine: Scotland's mobile cinema service saved until at least 2026

Screenings across Highlands and Islands have been secured

The future of mobile cinema screenings across the Highlands and Islands has been secured until at least 2026 – weeks after Dame Judi Dench made a personal plea to First Minister Humza Yousaf to intervene over the future of the service.

Around £350,000 has been secured to keep the celebrated Screen Machine service going for another two years.

Dame Judi was urged to help save the Screen Machine after a letter-writing campaign by pupils at Castlebay Community School on the Isle of Barra, one of the regular stop-offs for the service, which is run in rural areas with little of no cultural provision.

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

The stage-and-screen star, who previously helped the Phoenix Cinema in Oban avoid closure, was approached after the Screen Machine’s operators urged fans of the screenings to lobby their local politicians and the First Minister for support to help keep it on the road.

The actress told Mr Yousaf the children who had contacted her were “desperate for the Scottish Government to help them”, telling the First Minister: “They have put a lot of effort into their letters and are most sincere in their pleas.”

The First Minister recently told Dame Judi: "I want to assure you that the Scottish Government is absolutely clear on the cultural, educational and social benefits that the Screen Machine’s unique service brings to so many rural and island communities across Scotland.”

Now the Government’s film and TV agency Screen Scotland has agreed to fund the extension of a lease of a mobile cinema from France – the third vehicle to be deployed for the Screen Machine service.

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

Its operators say they are still pursuing a fundraising campaign to secure a permanent new Screen Machine, with the aim of bringing it into use “no later than” April 2026, when the new lease is due to run out.

A temporary "Cinémobile” was brought to Scotland last year with the help of an initial £176,641 grant from Screen Scotland after the vehicle used for the previous 17 years began developing a series of faults blamed on corrosion caused by the weather conditions in the Highlands and Islands.

With growing numbers of screenings having to be cancelled, the future of the service was in doubt until Regional Screen Scotland, which runs the 78-capacity screenings, was able to hire a temporary replacement from French company Toutenkamion.

The new funding deal will ensure the Screen Machine services continues to operate until at least 2026 while efforts are ongoing to raise around £1.4 million for a brand new vehicle.

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

The Screen Machine service has covered more than 250,000 miles since the first screenings were launched in 1998. It normally goes to more than 40 communities across the Highlands and Islands each.

However, the temporary Cinémobile has a different design to the previous Screen Machine and is unable to visit the islands of Eigg, Raasay, Jura, Gigha, Cumbrae, Rousay and Shapinsay.

It is hoped the Government will agree within the next few months to meet around half the cost of a permanent new Screen Machine, which is expected to take up to 18 months to be built from scratch.

However, local authorities which are visited by the Screen Machine are also being urged to contribute to the cost of the new vehicle.

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

Simon Drysdale, Regional Screen Scotland’s interim chief executive, said: “We are immensely grateful to Screen Scotland for demonstrating their continued support for Regional Screen Scotland and the much-loved Screen Machine by funding the fee to extend the lease of the Cinémobile for a further two years.

"This means our customers can be confident that they will continue to have access to the big screen until at least April 2026. We have already made great progress in lobbying for support to commission the build of a brand new Screen Machine, which we intend to bring into use no later than April 2026.

"This progress is largely down to efforts that our customers made in writing to their MSPs and other elected representatives, to tell them how much they love and value the Screen Machine. We are very grateful for all of the letters, emails, conversations and phone calls that have been sent or made on our behalf.

"We would urge our customers to continue to contact their local councillors, MSPs and MPs to impress upon them that the long-term future of the Screen Machine will only be secured when the new mobile cinema is commissioned. Fundraising for the new, permanent Screen Machine is our mission over the coming months.”

Sambrooke Scott, head of audience development at Screen Scotland, said: “We're proud to support the continued efforts of Regional Screen Scotland in maintaining access to the full cinema experience through the lease of the Cinémobile.

"This interim solution ensures continuity while it strives to secure a permanent replacement for the beloved Screen Machine, and Screen Scotland is fully behind those efforts. Our funding not only extends the Cinémobile lease, but also bolsters the resilience of Regional Screen Scotland and helps the efforts to secure a new facility from April 2026 onwards.

“Screen Scotland's commitment to the Screen Machine service and the communities it serves remains unwavering. But I want to underline that to be sustainable in the longer term, the Screen Machine should be supported by the local authority areas that it serves, as well as by Scotland’s national screen body.”

Michelle MacLean, depute head at Castlebay Community Community School, said: “Our pupils and staff at Castlebay Primary have remained passionate about this campaign. which is so close to the hearts of our local island community.

"We must especially thank Dame Judi Dench for writing and working with us and helping with our cause in fighting to retain the Screen Machine.”

Robin Currie, leader of Argyll and Bute Council, said: “The Screen Machine brings a service to rural communities that would otherwise be missing. It therefore adds to the quality of life in many rural areas.”