Film Club, the last bastion of the video store era, rolls credits in Sydney

By SEJA AL ZAIDI

Darlinghurst is officially bidding adieu to Film Club, the iconic DVD store that achieved cult status in the inner-city community.

Film Club was one of the final few DVD stores in the country, and the last of its kind in Sydney.

Film Club will close its doors on March 12, leaving a legion of loyal customers wondering what proprietor Ben Kenny’s next move will be.

“It’s a constant in the community that provided uncomplicated, affordable, accessible, non-judgemental entertainment and a smiling face to everyone who walked in there,” Darlinghurst local Louise Butler said.

The store maintained its stature as an institution in the Sydney arts scene over the last decade, with Butler describing Film Club as a “central, colourful, exciting centre of entertainment where like-minded people [tended] to gather”.

Ben Kenny, the proprietor of Film Club and self-confessed “film geek” ultimately decided on closing shop when an appropriate buyer for the business couldn’t be found.

Kenny has been inundated with shows of gratitude and sorrow from locals who saw Film Club as “one of the joys of the neighbourhood”.

“There’s been a sense of mourning from most people who understood we were always living on borrowed time,” Kenny told City Hub.

“There was always going to be a day when the niche we filled was either too small to subsist on or fulfilled by other delivery methods.”

Despite the store’s closure, its influence on maintaining relevance for otherwise underserved genres, such as foreign language and silent films, will not be forgotten by locals.

“It’s got a carefully curated set of esoteric entertainment offerings presented by people who just love film, it’s not just profit-driven,” Butler said.

“There’s not going to be anywhere else that I’m aware of that’ll have everything like Film Club. There’s pretty much everything; every film anyone’s mentioned to me that’s either really terrible or hilarious, that they remember from their childhood, or that they’ve seen in Italy ten years ago – Ben has it,” she added.

Kenny’s passion for the business model that inspired Film Club comes from an appreciation of the communal, bonding nature of the arts, that can’t be replicated by “an algorithm on a streaming service”.

“Art isn’t made to exist in isolation, it’s made to bring us together, for us to connect over and share with one another,” said Ben.

When asked what the next steps were for Film Club and the legacy it’s inspired in the community, Kenny pointed to future community events and more activities with the online community of cinephiles that he’s fostered over social media.

“The DVD collection that we have, the substance of the store, has mostly been sold off,” he said.

“We’re looking forward to maybe running in-person screenings again, exploring digital community aspects, maybe setting up a Discord.”

The closure has inspired waves of nostalgia from customers who are visiting the store to pay their respects and bask in its unique atmosphere one last time.

“It’s really touching. People keep bringing cards, and champagne – the wealth of good feelings I’ve gotten from this community has been really overwhelming,” Kenny said.

“It’s a bit bittersweet, we’re quite mournful. But we’re still full of energy and ready to chug on with whatever the next thing is.”