On June 24 one of London’s last video shops closed its doors, having supplied Notting Hill’s film buffs with the best in foreign and independent cinema for over thirty years. First opened in 1985, Video City’s reputation stretches far beyond local fans, all thanks to its impeccable selection, laid-back atmosphere, and attention to detail. The shutdown means that hours of life-changing films will now be inaccessible to the public – many of them rare and difficult to view online – leaving regulars feeling dispossessed.

Video City – which proudly declares itself ‘An actual shop!’ – printed and distributed handwritten "End of an Era" notices back in May to announce its closure, expressing the staff’s gratitude for years of support. Since then customers have been coming in waves, buying discounted films and swapping over-the-counter movie recommendations for impassioned discussions about the reasons behind the shutdown.

The death of one of London’s cinema landmarks reflects the changing face of the city’s arts sector and the country’s broader public arts policy. Citing technological change, soaring rent prices and doubling government business rates as his reasons for shutting shop, owner Simon Brzeskwinski says neither the council nor national government have shown much willingness to help him out, forcing him to make his final decision sooner rather than later.

Word has it that Video City will be opening a new online platform in the future, possibly taking the form of a streaming site with real-time advice from specialists. With the closure of the shop, however, the downsides to the shift from physical to digital formats are being laid bare, as personal expertise and quality curation gives way to corporate-sponsored content on streaming services like Netflix. Dazed met Brzeskwinski to document the shop’s last days and discuss whether DVD box sets are about to become a car boot sale obscurity.

When you opened the shop, what was your ambition and do you feel like you’ve reached that goal?

Simon Brzeskwinski: I’ve learned over the past few weeks that we did reach our goal. Together with my partners, we opened the shop because we wanted to share our passion for film, particularly independent and foreign cinema, which when we opened had very little infiltration in the UK market. I think it’s really important that people see movies outside of their comfort zone, so that was always our intention. We knew we had seen some great films, we knew that there was a limited availability and we wanted to bring that to a wider audience. I’ve absolutely loved what I have done for thirty years. There is not a day I have not wanted to be here.

I always hoped the community enjoyed it but I never had any idea how much they did. I think it’s a slightly British thing; during all these years, people have probably appreciated it, but once they found out we’re closing there’s just been this incredible outpouring of thanks and gratitude. It doesn’t make it any easier to close up, but it means that I walk away from here incredibly happy that people have enjoyed it as much as we have – if not more.

Did you ever reconsider the closure?

Simon Brzeskwinski: I looked at all the reasons that we were closing, not only on my own, but also with my accountant, and I made the decision very reluctantly. When we announced the closure a huge number of people stepped forward with incredibly generous rescue schemes. One of them was one of our customers who came in with a huge roll of support from other people who were committed to giving us £260 a year, guaranteed for the next five years – all for nothing.

But looking at it realistically, they only offered me a temporary stay of execution – they did not offer me a long-term solution to a business model that no longer works for a whole host of reasons. And the other critical issue and deciding factor was when Apple decided to release all of their hardware without a DVD drive over a year ago. Such is their dominance and aim for world domination, there is a real risk that these DVDs will not be made in five years.

I feel like film fans will still crave that interaction and the type of relationships that you provide, even if they might not have much time or money. How do you see the desire for this type of fan interaction being transposed online in the future?

Simon Brzeskwinski: First of all I don’t think it’s about not having the money. People are leading much busier lives. The issue is time; it is more about time than about anything else. Current offerings online cater mainly for a mass market, and because they are convenient, people accept a mediocre selection of films because it is an easy option. If you look at all of the sites currently on offer, all their guidance is done by algorithms, even on book sites. I have looked at those very closely and they are limited, they come no way near customer service. Most people don’t trust the recommendations.

Trust is a really interesting commodity, it is something that is very hard to attain, and you may have a huge budget but it does not mean that people are going to trust your recommendations. We have done this on a very small scale here, but I do believe we can offer real time guidance online, but my project is in early development so I can’t speak about it at this stage. All I can tell is that it will be high quality content, that is being properly curated by people who have a passion for what they are doing and want to make available a huge range of cinema, television, documentary that they know people will enjoy when they watch it.

Do you think that the Government could have done anything for small businesses like yours to stay open longer?

Simon Brzeskwinski: For a long time the Government – and I am not talking about any party in particular because it is the same across the board – has talked very well about supporting small businesses. In action they have done very little. The real issue is that if you talk to the council, they will say: ‘It has nothing to do with us, central government sets the rates’ – and if you speak to the Government’s valuation office they will say: ‘We just set the rates, you have to talk to your council’. Nobody is prepared to help. They have an incredibly low morale about where they are working. Nobody cares, nobody understands, because they don’t walk out here to see the effect of us not actually being here. We’re one of the last bastions of community that Notting Hill has left, and the few other video shops left are in danger as well.

What are your best memories from the last thirty years, and what are you going to miss the most?

Simon Brzeskwinski: The best thing is that we have recommended films that people have been very reluctant to take, and they have come in the next days and been moved to tears to say "Thank you, I would never have chosen that, what can I see next". We have had stories of people who said we helped them to quit smoking or even avoid a divorce when they had children, because the only thing we were able to do was watch movies!

The thing I’ll miss the most is the community sense, and this is difficult to replicate online. We have valued it, people that came here valued it – but the council, and the powers that set the business rates, they don’t value it, and that to me is a tragedy. There are a number of independent businesses here that I know are hanging on by their fingernails, and it’s those very businesses that help give an area its identity. It’s evaporating because the government is carrying out this economic cleansing.