Words: Angus Coleman
TheLoss Loss of of The Independent Independent Cinema Cinema I
n October 2022 the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), a charity that supported the independent film industry in Scotland, was forced into administration. This came as a result of soaring costs due to, among other factors, the pandemic and subsequent cost of living crisis. The charity faced energy prices increasing by £200,000, and the economic crisis meant that people had less money to spend on cinema tickets, hurting the business. This meant that the charity was unable to cover its costs, resulting in it being placed under the administration of insolvency practitioners, and being required to immediately cease all activity. The charity’s work to share and promote independent filmmaking constituted an integral part of the Scottish cultural landscape. The CMI ran the Filmhouse cinemas in Edinburgh and Aberdeen, as well as the Edinburgh International Film Festival – the world’s longest running film festival which had attracted filmmakers, actors and film-lovers to the city since 1947. As well as the obvious loss of cultural capital with the
Arts & Entertainment
disappearance of these institutions, the closures have also resulted in the redundancy of over one hundred staff members across both cinemas and the festival. It becomes easier to appreciate the scale of t he hardship faced by the charity when it is taken in the context of the attempts at support. Most notably, the Recovery Fund for Independent Cinemas. This was a support package for independent cinemas all over Scotland that amounted to £3.19 million, as part of a larger initiative by Screen Scotland, a national body supporting the Scottish film and television industries, and the Scottish Government of £8.72 million. That the CMI’s share of the support amounting to £354,052 was not sufficient to keep the organisation going, helps one to understand the magnitude of the problem. Attempts at rallying public support were equally unsuccessful. When the Edinburgh and Aberdeen Filmhouses were put up for sale in order to help pay the CMI’s debts after
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