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In line with the UK Government and Scottish Government's public health advice we are sad to announce that we will be closing both Filmhouse in Edinburgh and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen from today Wednesday 18th March until further notice.  We are also announcing the postponement of the 74th EIFF in June, and are looking at which elements of the Festival can be delivered later in the year.

Our first priority is the health and wellbeing of our staff, filmmaker guests and audiences, and we wish you all health and strength through this difficult time.

Tickets purchased online for future screenings will be automatically refunded, however at this challenging time for the Filmhouse and Belmont cinemas we would ask you to consider converting your refund into a donation towards sustaining our charity and the work we will do in the future.

For tickets purchased at the Box Office, refunds will be available to customers when we re-open.

Memberships will be frozen until we are able to resume operating, but if you are able to consider continuing your membership payments it would be a significant support.

Other ways you can consider supporting the Filmhouse in Edinburgh and the Belmont Filmhouse is through the purchase of vouchers to gift or enjoy when we are able to resume our screenings programmes. Please consider making a donation or supporting the Festival by becoming an EIFF Friend. Opportunities to support can be found on our websites: 
www.filmhousecinema.com, www.belmontfilmhouse.com and www.edfilmfest.org.uk

We look forward to a brighter time when our cinemas can bring us all back together in a shared celebration of film, and its role in giving us a window on the best and most diverse stories and story tellers from across the world.

CEO of Filmhouse in Edinburgh, Belmont Filmhouse Aberdeen and Edinburgh International Film Festival, Ken Hay said:

"It is with huge regret that we have taken the necessary decision to both close Filmhouse in Edinburgh and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen for the foreseeable future, as well as postpone Edinburgh International Film Festival 2020.

"Both Filmhouse and Belmont Filmhouse provide unique windows on the world for their local communities, however the health and wellbeing of our staff, filmmaker guests and audiences has to be the first consideration.

"As the longest running film festival in the world we are keen to continue even through these hard times, and we are looking at which elements of it may be delivered later in the year. We will keep you informed as plans develop.

"For now, we would like to thank our funders, sponsors, partners, staff, donors, patrons, filmmakers, sales agents, distributors, members and audiences for their loyalty, support and understanding in these unprecedented times."

Meanwhile we'll be doing our best to keep everyone's spirits up and conversation going through our social media and digital channels and hope that many of you will engage with us, retaining what we can of our sense of community and sharing our passion for film.

- The Filmhouse Team

We emailed you earlier this week to share the updated plans for the New Filmhouse, and to let you know that the Planning Application had been submitted to the City of Edinburgh Council. It is now live to view on the Planning Portal.

We are getting in touch to let you know how to find out more and view the designs, and to encourage you to support our Application by submitting a comment direct to the Council via the online planning portal. The deadline for submitting your comment is Monday 1 February 2021.

Earlier this year we shared our plans for a new home on Festival Square. A major public consultation was launched just before the country entered lockdown in March and we were extremely grateful for the significant and positive public response given the necessary shift to online consultation methods and the extraordinary times we have all faced since.

The designs have now been updated in response to public feedback, expert advice and input from the Council's Planning department, and we have also developed more detailed proposals for Festival Square that we believe will help create a more inviting and valued public space for the people of Edinburgh. You can see them here.