Elevator to the Gallows / Ascenseur pour l’échafaud + Live Jazz Performance

Join us for the very first Cinetopia Salon, a new monthly gathering where cinema meets live performance, nibbles and drinks, and good conversation.

Experience Louis Malle’s hypnotic, cult début Ascenseur pour l’échafaud famous for its live, improvised score by jazz icon Miles Davis. A woman and her lover plot to murder her husband, but when their plan goes awry, Paris becomes a labyrinth of desire and paranoia. Jeanne Moreau’s face glows with desperate longing as Miles Davis’s haunting trumpet weaves through shadowy streets. This is noir poetry – beautiful, doomed, and unmistakably French.

Before the screening, the evening will begin with a special introduction from the Edinburgh Film Guild, the world’s oldest continuously running film society, setting the scene for the film’s enduring legacy.

The film will then be preceded by a live jazz set from two outstanding local musicians:

Colin Steele (trumpet) is one of Scotland’s most acclaimed jazz musicians, renowned for his lyrical trumpet style and for blending jazz with the melodic richness of Scottish folk traditions. His work has been praised by The Guardian as “invitingly lyrical” and by The Scotsman as “triumphant and engaging,” marking him as a distinctive voice on the UK and European jazz scene.

Dan Abrahams (guitar/bass) is an Edinburgh-based musician and composer active across Scotland’s jazz, folk and contemporary scenes. Alongside his work with award-winning trio Dowally, he also performs with bands including Wayward Jane, The Foo Birds and Bonzai Quartet. A versatile improviser and collaborator, his playing is marked by fluidity, expression and cross-genre creativity.

Arrive early for our French-style apéro hour, with wine, beers, cocktails and soft drinks available to purchase at the pop-up bar, alongside complementary nibbles – a chance to mingle, relax and start the evening in true Salon style.