Slow Horses star and BAFTA-winning director become official champions of reborn Edinburgh Filmhouse

The Olivier-winning actor and BAFTA-winning filmmaker have agreed to become the inaugural patrons of the art house cinema ahead of its planned reopening early next year.

They were both leading supporters in the campaign to save the Edinburgh Filmhouse in the wake of its sudden closure in October 2022 after the collapse of its arts charity operator Centre for the Moving Image.

Their appointments as official champions have been announced as the new charity behind the revival plan announced they had signed a final lease agreement with the building’s owners, Caledonian Heritage, which will allow work to get underway on a refurbishment of the Lothian Road landmark.

Its future as a cinema was secured in March after the UK Government agreed to provide funding to the tune of £1.5m to pay for a refurbishment of the Filmhouse, which had operated in the former church building for more than 40 years.

New seating, extra legroom, a revamped cafe-bar, a new foyer and the addition of a fourth screen are all planned as part of the refurbishment, which Scottish Government agency Screen Scotland and Edinburgh City Council are also supporting.

More than £2.3m has now been secured for the revival of the Filmhouse since the launch of an “Open The Doors” rescue bid and fundraising campaign last September.

Lowden has been appointed to the role ahead of his return to the stage in Scotland at next month’s Edinburgh International Festival, where he is appearing in a new David Ireland play, The Fifth Step.

He will reunite with with the National Theatre of Scotland, which gave him his first major role when he was cast by director John Tiffany in the lead role of Cammy for its tour of Gregory Burke’s play Black Watch in 2010 while he was in his final year at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow.

Wells, who was brought up in Edinburgh, has cited the huge impact on her career of a Filmhouse education initiative, Scottish Kids Are Making Movies.

Lowden said: “I made a bee-line for the Filmhouse when I lived in Edinburgh and loved the diversity of its programme, showing films from around the world, as well supporting independent and local filmmakers, and so many film festivals have a platform there.

"I’m delighted that it’s on track to re-open. I’m honoured to be a patron and champion of what will be again a truly great independent cinema.”

Wells said: “I’m so pleased that these doors will finally reopen, providing an essential space in Edinburgh for audiences to discover films they might not otherwise see.

“The Filmhouse was an essential part of my own story and I’m delighted it can continue to be that for others too through its film and education programming and its role as a public forum for film lovers. I’m proud to be an inaugural patron and can’t wait to sit back down there myself.”