Five things you need to know today - Friday
Films galore in Edinburgh this weekend - and more to come as Filmhouse Edinburgh announce their opening programme
Square Cinema
The cinema in St Andrew Square is on this weekend. Set in the picturesque surroundings of St Andrew Square Garden, the three-day event is funded by Essential Edinburgh with LNER continuing their headline support. It all kicks off this year on Friday June 14th with a packed line-up.
Family audiences are in for a treat with daytime screenings including Kung Fu Panda, Trolls Band Together, The Little Mermaid, and Wonka. Then through the afternoon and into the evening, older audiences can enjoy Hollywood blockbusters, cult and anniversary cinema screenings including Barbie, Harry Potter & The Order of the Pheonix, William Shakespeare’s Romeo & Juliet, Pretty Woman and the anniversary screenings of The Matrix (25th anniversary), and Four Weddings and a Funeral (30thanniversary) and more, all in a relaxed picnic-style environment.
Barbie will be screened twice – Friday and Sunday afternoons – making sure any football-loving Barbie fans don’t need to choose between this record-breaking film and supporting their national team at the opening EURO24 match.
Emily Campbell Johnston, Senior Manager Marketing & Communications, Essential Edinburgh, said:“Over thirteen years, our outdoor film screenings produced by Unique Events have evolved into one of the largest free outdoor cinema events in the UK – attracting locals and visitors alike to enjoy the city centre.
“It’s a fantastic, free event that has something for absolutely everyone from daytime family fun to movie-lovers at night. We have a range of terrific sponsors working with us to ensure it is an event that creates happy memories – come rain or shine! We are especially delighted to welcome LNER back as our lead partner, and to extend our partnership to 2026.
“Square Cinema is always fabulous fun, it brings people into the city centre where they can then enjoy all the city centre offers, helping drive footfall and provide a welcome boost for local businesses.”
First films at Filmhouse will be...
The very first film which will welcome audiences back to the newly renovated Filmhouse Edinburgh will be Giuseppe Tornatore’s Cinema Paradiso (1988).
Filmhouse has always shown different films from mainstream cinemas in town, and its new programme for the first weeks shows it will be no different. The long-awaited reopening is now only a couple of weeks away after the two and a half year closure - and cinema goers may now book tickets.
Rod White, Programming Director of Filmhouse, said: “Looking into the films that simply didn’t make it on to Edinburgh cinema screens at all during Filmhouse’s closure only hammered home the need for it in this great City of Culture. It’s been tough – whilst Filmhouse was closed – to watch some brilliant films come and go from cinemas without being able to offer a venue to watch them in... The good news is, Filmhouse has never been a better place to watch a film (and talk about it afterward!) than it is today and we simply cannot wait to welcome everyone back, or, for the first time!”
The hand-picked programme will include Filmhouse patron actor, Jack Lowden, in a film by Edinburgh based filmmaker Matt Palmer. This will be a free double-bill of the gutsy thriller Calibre(2018) starring Lowden and Tony Curran alongside Palmer's hit horror Fear Street: Prom Queen (2025) which debuted at No.1 on Netflix on its release earlier in the year and will have its first ever public cinema screening at Filmhouse.
Matt will also take part in a Q&A after the screening.
Make it to Munich will also be one of the first films shown at Filmhouse Edinburgh when it reopens after a £2 million refurbishment.
The film tells the story of teenage Scottish footballer Ethan Walker and the surgeon Professor Gordon Mackay who was instrumental in Ethan's recovery from a near-fatal accident with pioneering work.
The duo cycled 800 miles from Hampden to Munich for Euro 24.
Tickets are on sale here
Safe crossing times at Cramond Island
RNLI have issued safe crossing times this weekend for returning FROM Cramond Island.
Friday 13 June before 12.40pm
Saturday 14 June before 1.20pm
Sunday 15 June before 2.05pm
There are also tables here with safe and unsafe crossing tim
Central Library Summer Reading Challenge
There will be a storytelling event on 28 June to kick off this year's summer reading challenge.
Hidden Door Day 3
Here is what is happening at the Paper Factory on Friday 13 June ( and remember the festival is on all weekend!) Click on the image below to find out more.
13:00 – Doors Open (free until 18:00)
13:00 – Reimagined Ruins (Interactive Exhibition, Room To Play, all day until 18:00)
18:00 – HENS BENS (Music , Factory Floor)
18:00 – Sweatshops (Performance , Machine Room)
18:30 – Fever Peach (Spoken Word , Long Room)
18:30 – Mike McKenzie (Music , Jack Daniels Stage)
18:45 – Embodied Freedom – Dorine Mugisha (Dance , Crane Shed)
19:00 – Alice Faye (Music , Machine Room)
19:40 – We have all been here… (Performance , Locker Room)
19:45 – Embodied Freedom – Dorine Mugisha (Dance , Crane Shed)
19:45 – PVC (Music , Jack Daniels Stage)
20:00 – Julia Sorenson (Spoken Word , Long Room)
20:10 – Queeran, the Farmers Son – Kieran Brown (Dance , Crane Shed)
20:30 – Voka Gentle (Music , Machine Room)
20:40 – Ghost in the Machine (Performance , Factory Floor)
21:00 Paradise Palms Records Takeover (9pm until 1am) (Music , Club Space)
21:15 – Tinderbox Orchestra (Music , Jack Daniels Stage)
21:15 – SPECTRAL (Performance , Crane Shed)
21:30 We have all been here – now into the light (Performance , Locker Room)
22:00 – Production Line of Dreams (Performance , Factory Floor)
22:00 – Erland Cooper (Music , Machine Room)
01:00 – Close
