End of an era as Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen is closed by its owning charity
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The trustees of Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), which runs Filmhouse Cinema in Edinburgh, Edinburgh International Film Festival and Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen, have appointed administrators.
In a statement made today it explained that the charity is facing a "perfect storm" of sharply rising costs, alongside reduced trade due to the ongoing impacts of the pandemic and the cost of living crisis. "
The Filmhouse Cinema and Café Bar in Edinburgh, the Edinburgh International Film Festival and Belmont Filmhouse will all cease trading immediately.
The decision means 102 staff have been made redundant (58 at the CMI, 22 at the Edinburgh Filmhouse, 20 at the Belmont and two at the film festival) with five being retained to assist with the administration process.
Administrators FRP Advisory will work with Creative Scotland, The City of Edinburgh Council and Aberdeen City Council in assessing what options there are for the future of the individual elements of the charity’s work and supporting staff through the process.
The board of the CMI stated: “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.”
All of the three subsidiaries, including the Belmont, will now cease trading immediately as Tom MacLennan and Chad Griffin of FRP Advisory have been appointed as joint administrators.
They have already begun to place the assets up for sale and are looking for potential buyers already.
Commenting Graham Findlay, chief executive of North East Sensory Services, said: “The closure of Belmont Filmhouse in Aberdeen will be a devastating blow for people who are deaf, blind or have visual or hearing impairments.
“The cinema regularly put on captioned screenings of popular films, increasing inclusion for those who are deaf or hard of hearing.
“It had also recently invested in audio description technology for blind and visually impaired audiences, and some films had British Sign Language transcriptions as well as subtitles.
“People with sensory loss deserve to enjoy the cinema experience in the same way as everyone else.
“The Belmont was a fantastic example of how things should be done and the staff there were always very supportive.
“It was a jewel in the crown of Aberdeen cinema and this will be a huge loss to the entire city.”
