Waltz for an Empty Flat

  • Tonight
  • Screen One
  • 35mm print
A woman dances alone in front of a tall window in an empty flat

Doors 19:00

Film at 19:30, no adverts first

Ines Halloran, 2025

98 min · 12A · in French with subtitles

£11

Members £6

Book a seat

This week
at Halide

Six days, two screens. Every film starts on time, after one short and no adverts.

A man stands on a pier as a storm wave breaks over the sea wall
A boxer trains alone between heavy bags in a bright gym
A steam train waits under the arches of an old station
Two people walk down a lit street at night
A rider holds a rearing horse on a boardwalk by the shore
An empty desert road runs straight towards a mesa

  1. Tuesday

  2. Wednesday

  3. Thursday

  4. Friday

  5. Saturday

  6. Sunday

Still
on film

Most cinemas threw their projectors out years ago. We kept two.

Every week at least one programme runs from a 35mm print: threaded by hand, checked on the rewind bench and changed over by a projectionist who watches for the cue marks. You will see the grain, and now and then a scratch. That is the point.

  • 35mm
  • 16mm
  • 4K digital
  1. A 35mm projector with its feed and take-up reels

    Two projectors, built in 1979 and serviced every spring.

  2. A full reel of film mounted on the projector arm

    A feature arrives as five reels. We splice them by hand.

  3. Close-up of a projector lens and its gate

    Each print gets the lens and masking its shape needs.

  4. Loops of film strip curling on a white bench

    After the last show the print is checked, wound and sent back.

Two rooms,
one booth

A big hall with a balcony and a small room behind the bar, both fed from the same projection booth.

The big hall: rows of seats under a lit proscenium

Screen One

A 1938 hall with a raked floor and a balcony, restored in 2019. A nine-metre screen and the original seats, re-sprung.

  • 140 seats
  • 35mm
  • Balcony
The small room: a few rows of seats facing a curtained screen

Screen Two

Our small room behind the bar, with sofas, side tables and a curtain we still open by hand before every film.

  • 48 seats
  • Sofas
  • Captions

Picked
by people

Mara and Teo watch around forty films a month to choose nine. Every title comes with a note from one of them.

Portrait of Mara Lindqvist

Mara Lindqvist

Programmer since 2016. A former projectionist who likes long films and short questions.

Portrait of Teo Okafor

Teo Okafor

Programmer since 2021. Runs the Late Doubles and the Small Screenings.

Wine glasses hang above the bar counter
The bar counter with bottles on the back shelves

The bar opens
an hour early

From five every evening: local beer, natural wine, proper coffee and toasties until the last film starts. Take your glass in with you, just bring it back.

  • Leith pale alePint£5.80
  • Natural red or whiteGlass£7.50
  • Espresso tonicTall£4.20
  • Cheese and kimchi toastieHot£6.50
  • Salted popcornMade upstairs£3.00

Open from 17:00 until the last film starts, and from 10:30 at weekends.

Become
a member

One card for the whole year, and a free ticket every month.

What you get

  • One free ticket every month, any film, either screen
  • Every other ticket £6, and £4 for a friend on Tuesdays
  • Booking a week before everyone else
  • Members' screenings and a vote on one film each season
  • Ten per cent off at the bar

£9a month, or £96 a year

Join Halide

£6 a month for students and over-65s.

Every month,
whatever is on

Four regular nights that run alongside the new releases.

  1. Trees heavy with snow in a white field

    Sunday Reels

    Sundays at 15:00 · Screen One

    A classic on 35mm every Sunday afternoon, introduced by whoever on the team loves it most. Tea in the interval.

  2. A neon sign glowing in the dark

    Late Doubles

    Fridays from 22:15 · Screen One

    Two films that should never have met, one ticket and a fifteen-minute break for the bar in between.

  3. Hands on the keys of a piano

    Silent + Piano

    First Wednesday · 19:30

    A silent film with a live score by pianist Ruth Ferrier, improvised from the first frame to the last.

  4. Two children laughing together in the street

    Small Screenings

    Saturdays at 11:00 · Screen Two

    Films for under-tens with the lights half up and the sound a little down. Children £3, grown-ups £4.

Before
you come

Anything else, ask at the box office or write to hello@halide.example.

Do films start on time?

Yes. We show one short film chosen to go with the feature, then the film. No adverts. If you are late, a member of staff will seat you quietly.

Can I take drinks in?

Anything from our bar, in our glasses. Please keep hot food out of Screen Two: the sofas are old.

Are both screens accessible?

Both have step-free access, wheelchair spaces and a hearing loop. Every Wednesday evening screening is captioned, and relaxed screenings run on Wednesday afternoons.

Can I swap or refund a ticket?

Up to two hours before the film, for anything else or your money back. Members can swap until the doors open.

Why do some films look scratched?

Because they are on film. A 35mm print shows its age a little; we find the best copy we can and handle it with gloves.

Can we hire a screen?

Screen Two seats 48 and can be hired on weekday mornings and Mondays, with your film or one of ours.

Lights up.
Come and visit.

Five minutes' walk from the Shore, two stops from the tram.

A corner building at night with its windows lit

Address

1 Example Street
Leith, Edinburgh EH6 0ZZ

Open the map

Box office and bar

Tuesday to Friday 17:00 – 23:30
Saturday and Sunday 10:30 – 23:30
Closed on Mondays

Call or write

+44 131 000 0000
hello@halide.example

Write to us