Indie Biz Spotlight: The Little Video Shop
Written by Rachel Rain Packota
Friday, 29 May 2009 00:00
Leila Deciantis is the owner/operator of the appropriately titled Little Video Shop. She's a mother, film fan, and - rumour has it -also a fan of our magazine...!
Tell us a little bit of history behind The Little Video Shop (LVS).
I opened the shop November 1st 2006. It's something that I always kind of dreamt of doing. I used to be a technical computer [operator]. I used to run the network at one of the hospitals, took an early retirement, [and] got bored, so when the shop here came up for sale.
I loved the street, I loved the shop, so I decided "I'll take a chance and open it up and just change it the way I want it to be".
I opened [the area] up, we've added the popcorn machine, the gelato, the different [weekly] specials. We've also added the screen outside which we can put movies [on]... make it more so the kids can come and hang out, look around for the movies... made it so that there are more people who want to sit outside.
* What makes Baldwin Street [where LVS is located] - and the community around it - a special place to be?
[It's] community minded. I like the way it feels: warm...like you're in the country, yet you're right in downtown Toronto. The people that I've met, that I've made friends [with] since being here are amazing... [such as] Vegetarian Haven, John's CafŽ,... Margaritas, The [Baldwin] Inn. I've got some ideas to make it [even] more of a community, but I'm still working the ideas in my head.
What makes LVS unique, or different from, other movie rental places (besides your independent status)?
The service [and] the interaction we have [with customers]. Whether it's me, whether it's Sarah, whether it's Michael, we kind of become friends with the customers. If they were sick, if they're feeling better. If they were writing an exam, how the exam went. You like to know more about them, and try to help if you can.
The way my son [Devon] put it: "Mom, you're mother to everyone". Some of the kids [note: young adults!] might be away from their homes [students], they're away from their parents, they might want a hug...I have no problem giving it!
What sort of special sections do you stock here?
We have a Canadian section which I'm really excited about, [and] everyone is trying to see Canadian [films]. I have a Middle Eastern section, a Bollywood section... Actually, [it's] thanks to one of my customers who was in India and brought me a whole bunch of Bollywood films [from there]... [he said] "You should have a Bollywood section!"
We have a lot of independent films, [sometimes] really odd-ball films [sometimes]... they don't always rent, but eventually someone goes "wow! I've been looking for this film forever - and you have it!" That makes me really happy when they come in and I have a film for them. I keep a running list [of films to buy], [and] I'm not a "big person" [financially], I don't have an infinite amount of money, but I have love for this place.
Name some favourite movies recently released on DVD.
"Amal" which is [from] a Canadian director, his name is Richie Mehta. There is "The Caramel" which is a Lebonese film... It's not fair [picking favourites], because there's a whole bunch of them!
There's "The Forgotten Woman" which is going to be screened [outside at LVS] Saturday [May 30th], and the director [Dilip Mehta] will be here to answer questions. It's very, very intense and deals with the widows of India. Dilip is very, very involved in trying to help the women... he's also a photojournalist.
How about a few favourite movies of all-time?
"The Best of Youth" is an Italian film. It's really, really well done. It spans over forty years of an Italian family, and the cinematography, the story, the acting, it's absolutely spectacular.
"Live and Become". It's [about] the listing of the Ethiopian Jews [the Black Falashas]... [and their subsequent journey] into Isreal... [There's] a young boy who is a Christian, and his mom tells him to go, live and become... She wanted him to pretend he was Jewish so he could go and have a better life.
In this era of downloading and Internet sharing or streaming, why are video shops still relevant?
With downloading, sometimes the quality's not as good. It's like watching something on the big screen in the theatre, and then watching it on a TV... you really don't get a sense of the details. The DVDs have extras, and a lot of times those extras tell you so much more about the film.
INFO
13 Baldwin Street, Toronto, ON M5T 1L1
416-205-9435
leila@littlevideoshop.com
HOURS
Sunday to Thursday - 12pm to 10pm
Friday and Saturday - 12pm to 11pm
SPECIALS
Monday - 2 for $4 [7 day rentals]
Tuesday - Rent a New Release, get a FREE Documentary film
Wednesday - Rent a New Release, get a FREE Foreign or Classic film
ANYTIME - Rent a TV series (non-New Release) for $10 [7 days]
FREE SCREENING and Q & A SESSION
SATURDAY, MAY 30TH - 9pm
"The Forgotten Woman" - Dilip Mehta, director
It is the pleasure and honor of The Little Video Shop to have a new friend of the shop, an award-winning documentary filmmaker and photojournalist, Mr. Dilip Mehta, on-hand for a special screening and Q & A of his award winning documentary "The Forgotten Woman" for patrons of the store and the local community at large. Please join us for the chance to celebrate an amazing Canadian talent and learn more about a film that has audiences and film-lovers raving. "The Forgotten Woman" will show on our outdoor screen and the Q & A will follow. Please check out the film's website for more information and raving reviews of this documentary.
www.forgottenwomanfilm.com
P.S. Our famous Popcorn will be served!
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