Good Causes story

Edinburgh Filmhouse

Edinburgh Filmhouse, which prides itself on showing a more varied programme of films than any other cinema in the country, has certainly come a long way since it was established in 1979. From one screen situated in a disused church, accessible only from a back entrance, it's become one of Edinburgh's leading cultural centres, with three screens open seven days a week showing films from a wide range of periods and countries, as well as special events featuring guest speakers from the film industry.

The most recent improvement to the cinema has been a new audio system to enhance access for people who are blind, partially sighted or hearing impaired. Using a grant from The National Lottery, the Filmhouse has installed a Sennheiser infra red system in the main auditorium, and purchased 30 headsets.

This new equipment is much more effective than the previous sound loop system, says chief operations officer James McKenzie: "The new headsets provide a greatly improved quality of sound." Sound is transmitted wirelessly to the headsets, and hearing impaired customers can either plug their hearing aids into the headsets, or use the headset alone without the need for a hearing aid at all. The same system is also used to provide audio description for visitors who are blind or partially sighted.

As a result, even more people in the city and beyond can benefit from the opportunity to enjoy contemporary world cinema releases, such as Spanish film Broken Embraces, classic re-releases like The Godfather, or discover movies they wouldn't usually come across.

This year marks The National Lottery's 15th anniversary.

Since it was launched, over 2,300 millionaires have been created and, thanks to lottery players, more than £23 billion raised for Good Causes.