The Belmont Cinema

The Belmont Cinema and Media Centre

Entrance to The Belmont Cinema at Aberdeen's Doors Open Day 2024
Address	Belmont Street, Aberdeen AB10 1JS
Coordinates	57°8′50.47″N 2°6′7.03″W
Owner	Aberdeen City Council
Operator	Belmont Community Cinema Ltd
Construction
Built	1896
Opened	1910
Closed	6 October 2022
Architect	Alexander Ellis Robert Gordon Wilson
Website
www.belmontcinema.co.uk
Listed Building – Category C(S)
Official name	The Belmont Cinema and Media Centre (former Trades Council Hall)
Designated	24 April 1987
Reference no.	LB20132

The Belmont Cinema is an arthouse cinema on Belmont Street, Aberdeen, Scotland and is the last remaining independent cinema in the city.

The cinema building is the property of Aberdeen City Council and is temporarily closed following the collapse of its former operator, the Centre for the Moving Image (CMI), in 2022.^[1]

Belmont Community Cinema Ltd were named by Aberdeen City Council as preferred operator for the site in September 2023, with an expected reopening date of late 2024.^[2] The building was open as part of Aberdeen's 2024 Doors Open Day on 7 and 8 September.^[3]

History

The building was constructed in 1896 as a trades hall to a design by architects, Alexander Ellis and Robert Gordon Wilson. It was principally used for meetings of Aberdeen's newly established Labour Movement.^[4] The first film was shown on the premises in 1898, and featured footage of Queen Victoria at Balmoral Castle, establishing a tradition of hosting visiting cinema shows. In 1910, the Trades Hall was converted into a permanent cinema called the Coliseum. It was refurbished and reopened as the New Kinema in 1921.

After another refurbishment in 1935, it was renamed the Belmont Cinema. It closed in 1953, and the building was converted into a warehouse. It reopened under lease to Picturehouse Cinemas as the Belmont Picturehouse in September 2000, after a major refurbishment by Aberdeen City Council with assistance from the National Lottery and Scottish Screen.^[5]

After some turmoil and uncertainty, the lease for exploitation on the Belmont to Picturehouse was extended in April 2011 for a further ten years.^[6] However, with the purchase of Picturehouse Cinemas by Cineworld,^[7] the company were forced to sell the Belmont due to a ruling by the Competition Commission that it had created unfair competition in the city.^[7]

In April 2014, Centre for the Moving Image (CMI) took over the lease and renamed the premises Belmont Filmhouse as a sister cinema to the Edinburgh Filmhouse.^[5] It closed in October 2022 when CMI ceased trading and entered administration.^[8]

Following CMI's collapse, the 'Save The Belmont Cinema' campaign was founded by local cinephiles and business people.^[9] This led to the creation of Belmont Community Cinema Ltd, a local charity dedicated to reopening the Belmont which was selected as preferred operator for the cinema by Aberdeen City Council in September 2023.^[10]

At a public meeting in October 2023, the new company pledged to put film, education, community and customer experience at the heart of a newly reinvigorated offering at the site.^[11]

The cinema is a grade C listed building.^[4]

References

1. "Aberdeen film fans 'heartbroken' at Belmont Filmhouse closure". BBC News. 7 October 2022. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
2. "Belmont Community Cinema announced as preferred operator for the Belmont Cinema". The Belmont Cinema. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
3. Sinclair, Jamie (30 August 2024). "New venues revealed as Doors Open Day returns to Aberdeen". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
4. Historic Environment Scotland. "49 AND 51 BELMONT STREET, THE BELMONT PICTUREHOUSE (FORMER TRADES COUNCIL HALL) (LB20132)". Retrieved 17 August 2019.
5. "History | Belmont Filmhouse". www.belmontfilmhouse.com. Retrieved 1 November 2021.
6. "Belmont cinema 'set to be saved'". BBC News. 26 April 2011. Retrieved 17 August 2019.
7. "'Business as usual' for iconic Belmont cinema after takeover". STV News. 8 October 2013. Retrieved 19 December 2014.
8. Roy, Cameron (6 October 2022). "Belmont Filmhouse Stops Trading". The Press and Journal. Aberdeen. Retrieved 6 October 2022.
9. Smith, Anne (11 October 2022). "Campaign to save Aberdeen's Belmont Filmhouse after sudden closure". STV News. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
10. "Preferred operator agreed for Belmont Cinema". Aberdeen City Council. 13 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2024.
11. "Highlights from public meeting of The Belmont Cinema". The Belmont Cinema. Retrieved 5 September 2024.

External links

• Official website