Edinburgh Film Festival ceases trading

Nicola Sturgeon, centre, arriving at the 2022 Aftersun opening gala with EIFF CEO Ken Hay, left Photo: Courtesy of EIFF/Lloyd Smith

The Edinburgh International Film Festival and leading arthouse cinemas Edinburgh Filmhouse and Aberdeen Belmont will "cease trading immediately" it has been announced this morning after its parent charity the Centre For The Moving Image called in the administrators.

A statement issued by CMI said that it had faced a "perfect storm of sharply rising costs, in particular energy costs, alongside reduced trade due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis".

It is believed that more than 100 staff have been made redundant across the business with immediate effect.

The news comes just months after EIFF - the world's longest continually running film festival - moved back to August after several years of being held in June and under the oversight of new creative director Kristy Matheson. Although many welcomed the move, others have noted it would result in increased costs for the festival due to the pressures on accommodation in the city in its 'festival season' as well as increased competition to attract audiences.

An artist's impression of the proposed new Filmhouse Photo: Courtesy of EIFF

In a statement, the CMI board said: “We have been proud to have led the CMI through incredibly challenging times, and in particular during the worst days of the pandemic. Unfortunately, the combination of sharply increasing energy and other costs, together with both the lasting impacts of the pandemic and the rapidly emerging cost of living crisis affecting cinema attendances, means that we have had no other option but to appoint administrators at this time.

“We would like to put on record our immense gratitude to the entire staff team whose passion for film as an artform and for the audiences and communities we work with and serve has remained undented by the challenges of recent years. We’re fully aware that this will be an exceptionally stressful time for them.”

The move comes despite the CMI receiving grants from the Scottish Government, Creative Scotland and the city councils of more than £1.5 million in recent years and recent ambitious plans to build a new £60 million film hub in the city, which faced a backlash from heritage groups. The Filmhouse has served Edinburgh for more than 40 years while CMI was set up in 2010 to run both the EIFF and the Edinburgh Filmhouse and has been led by chief executive Ken Hay.

In its press release CMI noted that energy costs are rising by approximately £200,000 over the next 12 months. It added: "Public funding has been standstill or reducing for over eight years and had been reducing in real terms value throughout that period."

The closure is likely to have a knock-on effect on other cultural events, including the likes of the French Film Festival, which has traditionally had its opening night films and much of its programme screened at Edinburgh Filmhouse.

This year the festival will celebrate its 30th anniversary in November and December. In a statement, the festival said: "The French Film Festival UK has been supported by Edinburgh Filmhouse and CMI since its inception, and Filmhouse was one our the two founding venues with Glasgow Film Theatre. We are deeply saddened at the news and our sympathies go out to our colleagues.

"We are working on a way to ensure that the Festival has its usual vibrant presence in Edinburgh and Aberdeen in this our 30th anniversary year."