Regional Screen Scotland, which runs the hugely-popular service to nearly 50 locations around the country every year, has been allocated a £500,000 grant after nearly two years of lobbying and campaigning for a new purpose-built facility.

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It had previously warned that the Screen Machine service, which has attracted an annual audience of almost 30,000, was at risk of being “wound down” after it was forced to retire its increasingly unreliable trailer in 2023 due to the number of cancelled screenings due to breakdowns.

The condition of the previous Screen Machine, which had operated the service since 2005, was thought to have gradually deteriorated due to the impact of bad weather.

The new funding will ensure a new mobile cinema can be ordered and continue its year-round programme of screenings into the 2040s.

The Screen Machine normally visits Tobermory, on the Isle of Mull, every year. (Image: Regional Screen Scotland)

Skye, Lewis, Harris, Island, Mull, Arran, Gigha, Tiree, Raasay, Barra, Eigg, Coll, Orkney and Tiree are among the island locations visited by the Screen Machine, which also stages screenings across the Highlands, Argyll & Bute, Moray and North Ayrshire.

Regional Screen Scotland had to twice secure additional funding from government agency Screen Scotland to allow it to bring in an alternative mobile cinema from France, although it was not suitable for some locations which previously benefited from the service.

Actor Alan Cumming and Scottish folk pop band Tide Lines backed “Save Our Screen Machine,” a £1.7 million fundraising drive to pay for a bespoke new cinema suitable for low bridges, single-track roads and ferries of all sizes.

Oscar-winning actress Dame Judi Dench also wrote to then First Minister Humza Yousaf last year to raise concerns about the future of the Screen Machine after being contacted by schoolchildren on Barra.

The government has allocated £500,000 from its Gaelic Capital Fund to help pay for the new Screen Machine.

Deputy First Minister Kate Forbes said: “The Screen Machine service is a hugely important asset, bringing cinema to the doorsteps of people in many rural and island communities.

“It has proved its worth over 26 years, providing entertainment that town and city residents take for granted. In doing so it enriches people’s lives and plays a part in tackling rural depopulation.

 “This grant allows Regional Screen Scotland to order a new, bespoke vehicle able to use Scotland’s ferry network and negotiate our rural roads. I wish the organisation well as it continues efforts to reach its fundraising target.”

The Screen Machine is said to have covered more than 250,000 miles since it first took to the road more than 26 years ago.

Although its new incarnation will have a slightly reduced capacity, down from 80 to 72, cinemagoers are expected to benefit from greater legroom.

Simon Drysdale, interim chief executive of Regional Screen Scotland, said: "This generous grant from the Scottish Government completely transforms our fundraising campaign to raise the money required to build a new Screen Machine.

“We can now plan with greater confidence for a service that will be secured into the 2040s.

“Heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported our campaign so far, from Screen Scotland to the Arran Trust, customers of the Newtonmore Grill, letter-writing children in Barra and many, many more.”

Sambrooke Scott, head of audience development at Screen Scotland, said: “We have worked closely with Regional Screen Scotland to support their operational costs across the last two years as they set out on their fundraising mission for a new Screen Machine.

“We strongly welcome the Scottish Government’s £500,000 investment towards a new Screen Machine. This is a significant step towards securing the future of one of the UK’s most innovative and valued cultural services.

“The investment aligns directly with Screen Scotland’s 2030 strategy, which prioritises growing and strengthening cinema going opportunities in areas of lower provision/population density.

"The Screen Machine continues to be a powerful example of that ambition in action — bringing high-quality cinema to communities across Scotland.”