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Summerhall Cinema – the only cinema on the Southside of Edinburgh – opens with brand-new film programme this October

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Image Credit Peter Dibdin

This October, Summerhall turns the Red Lecture Theatre into Summerhall Cinema – the only cinema on the Southside of Edinburgh – with a brand-new cinema programme. Tickets for Summerhall Cinema – opening on Friday 1 October – go on sale today, Wednesday 15 September. 

Cosy up this Autumn with all your favourite new movies, cutting-edge cinema technology and a warming drink from Summerhall’s Gallery Bar. Creating a top-of-the-line movie going experience, The Red Lecture Theatre has been upgraded with Dolby 5.1 surround sound and cinema-grade DCP projection, creating an immersive, intimate cinema experience for film fans throughout Edinburgh to enjoy. These upgrades have been made possible thanks to Screen Scotland’s Cinema Equipment Fund. 

The Red Lecture Theatre has previously been used as a cinema by many of our favourite film organisations including Edinburgh Short Film Festival, Cinefile, French Film Festival and Cinematic, as well as Summerhall’s own seasonal programmes. Now, Summerhall makes its cinema a weekly feature with film programmes including CineHall and Screen Horizons, as well as one-off and guest screenings. The brand-new programme will feature a mix of new releases, independent studio titles, modern horror, retrospectives and world cinema gems. Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, audiences can choose from six diverse and exciting titles – or settle in for a movie marathon – from across the full spectrum of cinema. 

Audiences at the Summerhall Cinema’s opening weekend, from Friday 1 October will enjoy: First Cow, a perceptive, slow-burn Western set in the 19th Century Pacific Northwest from director Kelly Reichardt; a raucous day out in the streets of Edinburgh with director Michael Caton Jones’ Our Ladies, adapted from Alan Warner’s novel The Sopranos; genre-director favourite Edgar Wright’s first documentary, a musical odyssey through five decades, The Sparks Brothers; and the British debut from Edinburgh-based director Ben Sharrock – Limbo – a deadpan comedy drama following a Syrian refugee who finds himself in a refugee centre on a remote Scottish island – the first feature-length film to be shot on Uist. 

On Sundays, Screen Horizons will screen a series of international titles, programmed by the French Film Festival. The first offerings on Sunday 3 October will include The Swallows of Kabul (Les Hirondelles de Kaboul), an animated drama by Zabou Breitman and Éléa Gobbé-Mévellec which portrays life under Taliban control and The Lady in the Portrait (Le Portrait Interdict), a sumptuous costume epic in Mandarin and French which evokes the unique rapport between a French missionary and the Manchurian empress, directed by Charles de Meaux.  

Summerhall Cinema will also play host to one-off screenings and events, including a cinema takeover from Edinburgh’s newest poetry festival Push The Boat Out, screening a series of specially-selected feature length movies, short documentaries, diverse animations and more from 15 – 17 October. A one-off screening from the Taiwan Film Festival on Wednesday 27 October will be accompanied by a live film score. 

Tom Forster, Summerhall Programme coordinator, commented: “As Summerhall’s first new artistic offering since Nothing Ever Happens Here in 2015, we are buzzing to welcome new release cinema to the ranks with the same vibrancy championed in our contemporary theatre, music, dance, physical theatre and circus, and visual art strands.”

For tickets, further information and regular updates on Summerhall please sign up for the mailer on the Summerhall website: www.summerhall.co.uk/ 

ENDS

some thank yous from miriam a

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I started Storytelling PR in 2013. I only know this as 2012 was the last year I didn’t really *do* fringe just supported my friends at Tortoise in a Nutshell with Grit at Bedlam – the summer of the heady joy of the 2012 Olympic Games in LDN. 

Over the years since I’ve ticked off a big long list of personal stuff – from ending relationships, ill-advised affairs with decidedly odd people, brilliant adventures with people in Adelaide, Melbourne, Glasgow, London, Edinburgh – I have been so extremely lucky to be able to transfer my skills and personal joi de vie into this mad stupid industry. I have watched proudly as journalists we first knew from blogs grew into trend-setters at big papers and I’ve never failed to be slightly awkward around those writers I really respect – until I realise they are humans too. 

I have also sat on the steps outside theatres at midnight with dear friends in theatre companies and heard about assaults they have survived, I have walked to interviews and heard about racism and a underlying fear of it happening each time an artist meets the media, I have sat for a wine with performers who have needed to share the homophobic abuse they received that day. I see deep cracks and deeper flaws in the theatre and live industry. I have become close friends with many of the artists and producers I work with. It has been an extraordinary journey and though I know I haven’t always got it right I have done my best to listen and challenge from the position I have clawed myself up to. And for me, Storytelling ceases to be when that fight and attention to our colleagues and artists isn’t at the centre, and aye, I’ll get it wrong many times more but I know I’ll do right many many times more still.  

Storytelling is called Storytelling cos the work we do is bigger than ‘Miriam Atwood’ – Storytelling provides vocation and opportunity for not only our amazing team of PR and Marketing professionals – to every single paid intern, press assistant, thank you for learning with us.

To the current Storytelling team, Emma, Emma (always a double at Storytelling) Eleanor, Erin and Sal – enjoy the lack of me randomly pulling ideas and projects out of nowhere at inconvenient time – you’re just gonna love it. To our two staff now off pursuing new things, Mim and Harry, we’ll always have the broom cupboard Storytelling was first based in. 

I mostly wanted to write this as this summer Mim Black has left Storytelling PR for pastures new in Environmental / Climate awareness PR (and mushrooms). Storytelling would not exist without them. Their born-with wisdom, their tenacity and their crazy skills smashing through a to do list – have allowed me to take the risks I wanted to – and at every step pushed me to be more dismissive of system or ideas that could have bound us as ‘just another PR company.’ Mim Black is an extraordinary human and it is entirely my privilege that we spent such insane times together fucking shit up, blagging our way through and crying a lot of tears of happiness and exhaustion. I won’t say I’ll miss her at Storytelling – what I have gained in a sister I will ALWAYS have – and I can’t wait to watch and support her as she makes real change in her new career. 

And now, I’m signing off for the first time in 8 years, to start a F*CKING FAMILY – but tbh – my family has always been everyone I sit on the back steps with, those I travel on days off on adventures with, the womxn who have taught me everything I know, those who have sat with me and offered me friendship over and above our working lives, those who have guided me and myself, the journey of learning to listen, authentically, and turn what I experience and what is shared with me, into action. The team who looked to me for guidance and somehow, most of the time, I helped them find the answers. The queer people who from my early 20s saw me as one of them, a lost, camp, pop loving drama queen, the drag artists who knew I was desperately in love with their art and their beauty, the circus performers who tip themselves upside-down 8 times a week and think nothing of it while I gaze open-mouthed, the theatre makers who leave it all out there on stage and then accept my sweaty hug at the end, the journalists who respected me before I respected myself, and the journalists who showed me I didn’t need to be scared of journalists HA (I still am though tbh). I also cannae wait to share this all with my child – and welcome them into this mad world with my beautiful husband and continue to fight for the change I want to see. 

Cos change is a coming, in many more ways than one. See you in 2022 fam.
X

Fringe Funding Workshop

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Storytelling PR are going to host a free online Fringe Funding Workshop on Wednesday 17 March at 2pm. Why? Well in the absence of the Fringe and because we’re missing the kinds of conversations that we’d normally have about the Fringe (and how to support the growth of the entire industry) we want to create a space for those conversations where anyone can join. We’ll even offer a perspective on what Fringe 2021 could look like.

Hosted by producer powerhouses, Daisy Hale (They/Them) and Robyn Jancovich-Brown (She/Her) this workshop is for anyone who wants to attend and discuss how to get funding to take work to the Fringe in the simplest terms; no bumf, no industry speak, no problems. Whether you’re an artist, an emerging producer, a PR or just interested, we want this event to be as laid back and welcoming as possible.

Please RSVP to the workshop by the morning of 17 March and you can also submit questions to Daisy and Robyn ahead of time by emailing Amy: admin@storytellingpr.com

Thou Art Viable festive cards

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We’ve teamed up with Michelle Mangan, Sharon McHendry and an incredibly talented bunch of artists to create Thou Art Viable – festive cards for a tricky fucking year.

A festive card of a blonde politician standing at podium on a bright pink background. Above his head in bright yellow are the words 'Christmas is Cancelled'.
Christmas is Cancelled by Ross Napier

A dizzying array of live-performance makers have designed Thou Art Viable festive cards. Card designers include: theatre maker and artist Katherina Radeva; graphic designer Ross Napier; Jazz singer and painter Ali McGregor; comedian and illustrator Danny Clives; Scottish Album of the Year Award nominated singer-songwriter Ela Orleans; and Storytelling’s very own Miriam Attwood.

We’re chuffed that we’ve been able to pay all these brilliant artists. And we will split all profits between culture support funds ExcludedUK, Eclipse Theatre and Black Womxn in Theatre’s #AllOfUs campaign.

How do I buy Thou Art Viable festive cards?

You can buy Thou Art Viable festive cards over on our website Thou Art Viable. Packs of 6 cards are £10 and any two packs have postage and packing included.

We will post cards out at the end of each week through November and December. There is a limited number of cards available. That means get in fast!   

Thou Art Viable’s Miriam, Sharon and Michelle said:

‘We quite simply saw this as a chance to put our story back out there – to talk up the number of specialists in our industry who have had 9 months without the joy, hustle and madness of their day jobs. Looking around we came full circle – we have time to stuff envelopes and we know artists who we know would have time to contribute artworks. This is not us diversifying, this is us saying ‘Thou Art Viable’  

“We must not be forgotten, we don’t want to be forgotten and we don’t want our incredible artists to be forgotten. By buying a pack of cards you are paying an artist for their work and you are handing a loved one a wee reminder of the arts and the mischief and magic we create as one of the country’s most loved and misunderstood industries.”



Facing Racism in Fringe PR & Media

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In July 2020 Storytelling PR Director, Miriam Attwood sent a rambling email to Black, Asian, Migrant, Indigenous and Ethnically Diverse artists and colleagues in the industry (that Storytelling have worked with) saying Storytelling was keen to use the rare time we now had in lieu of the August Festival season to hold a formal awareness raising moment about Racism in Fringe PR and Comms. As an industry leader it felt possible to get people within the industry to really face and work towards making long term change – but of course – inappropriate for Miriam A to hold that space. 

In doing this work we sought invaluable advice, accepting constant suggestions, amendments and corrections along the way. Three points specifically we would like to underline about this work are; one change can only happen when the industry welcomes Ethnically Diverse Talent to take up positions of power, and fosters that talent with real awareness and two as a white team we cannot take up room in this space, but we feel we can support with providing a platform, carrying out admin, and asking for funding. three we are a small cog in a huge space of change and we would like to thank the leaders in this space who have taught us so much. 

Manifesting from this were two forums where Tigho Feldman held the space as facilitator. Tigho is currently Head of Operations for Rambert London, and through her impressive career held senior roles within the Festival Fringe Society.

Leading on both format and content were Arusa Qureshi (Edinburgh based, Freelance Culture and Music writer) and Clarcia Parinussa (dancer, choreographer, race equalities work as ID.Y and D/ecology)

With Arusa, Claricia and Tigho’s leadership we came to a conclusion a closed forum with a group of creatives would begin the event, providing a safe space for comment and honest reflection, (Storytelling PR did not attend). Then a second industry facing forum with conclusions shared and an ask of a commitment to change with an open sign up sheet.  There was a third forum – a breakout space – for industry – namely PRs, media and marketers – to meet and reflect. We would like to fully recognise this was very much a ‘change, amend, update’ process, and we are greatly appreciative for all the honest feedback we received. 

The contributing creatives* include: 

Annie George – Artist and Writer 
Shivani Saini – Director Atelier Culturati 
Christian Graham – Writer and actor
Apphia Campbell – Writer and Actor 
Katherina Radeva – Co-Director Two Destination Language
Sage Nokomis-Wright (Producer)
Mandla Rae (Performance Artist) 
Natalie Chan (Producer) 
Arusa Qureshi (Culture and Music journalist)
Claricia Parinussa (Dancer, Choreographer and race inequalities facilitator and industry leader)

Artists and writers in the first forum were welcome to attend the second. Many of those contributors have also fed back to us specifically with suggestions and ideas that were taken on board, and shared. We are looking at how we continue to build and share on these responses and to safely make these public. 

*we have invited artists to keep their name anonymous as in the closed forum facilitated by Tigho Feldman. 

Footage of the second session will soon be available for media and PRs to engage with. We would ask anyone joining this space to commit to making at least one change in their working practice to make spaces safer for Ethnically Diverse Artists and Industry. 

Breakdown of funding:

Festival Fringe Society £240
Storytelling PR LTD £715
Industry attendees were asked to contribute £10
Artists and facilitator payments £850 
Donations in lieu of fees to Ethically Diverse led companies £150 

NEXT STEPS: Storytelling will seek to apply for funding to continue this work and then hand over the space to Ethnically Diverse Talent to own and hold the space and continue the work with the resources Storytelling can offer. 

Storytelling PR Ltd will be looking to hire a new PR in 2021 to diversify our permanent team and will be advertising with the Taylor Bennet Foundation https://www.taylorbennettfoundation.org/ and Black-led British publications and job sites. 

We will continue to publish comments from contributors and commitments from industry in this space.