dive into the heart of one of the last video clubs in France
Considered an irreducible, Bruno Clément is at the head of one of the last video clubs in France. Based in Calais, it has 2,500 regular customers.
The Interceltic Festival of Lorient 2022
Bruno Clément has been the owner of a timeless boutique for fourteen years. Vidéo Pilote, that’s its name, it’s one of the last video clubs in France. Located in the Saint-Pierre district in Calais, it is full of treasures: 33,000 DVDs and VHS, just that, stored from floor to ceiling.
“It can go from the great American classics, French, explains the manager, but also video cassettes that I still keep”. As he assures, the demand is still there. “Once, I had a grandma who came to get Disney for her grandchildren, because she still had a VCR”.
More than a job, a passion he inherited from his father. In the 2000s, when Netflix did not exist and even less streaming, the patriarch owned a dozen video clubs.
Bruno Clément admits it: he does not really make his turnover on rentals, but rather on sales. The video club has 2,500 regular customers. Secret son? His wise advice according to the client’s state of mind. “If I give him a comedy when he wants to see a good thriller, I’m going to miss his evening”, smiled the manager.
video length: 02min 35
Discovery of one of the last video clubs in France based in Calais
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©FTV
Every month, he orders the latest releases from the catalogue. But it is rather on the sales sites that he makes the best deals, by unearthing films that have fallen into oblivion.
Just go and see the reviews left by customers to realize their attachment to the store. “Bruno always unearths the DVDs I ask him for, it’s a mine of information and anecdotes on his own”, writes Loic. “The cinephile’s temple”, abounds Steven. “The Cinema Empire”summarizes Bruno.