A viral crowdfunding campaign has transformed an East London institution, funding a hidden 15-seat analogue cinema at the back of the UK’s last remaining cine shop. Umit & Son raised over £55,000 to survive rising local costs, doubling its original target and expanding into a full working cinematheque.
Originally from Cyprus, owner Ümit Mesut has run the shop for 40 years. Every corner of the space is stacked with old 16mm reels, VHS tapes, vintage posters, and analogue cameras. Despite its local roots, the store’s deep archive has attracted a global reputation among film fanatics, drawing visitors from Los Angeles to Brazil.
An accidental partnership
The shop’s recent evolution began 15 years ago when local filmmaker Liam Saint-Pierre walked through the doors hoping to fix a broken projector. The two bonded over their shared dedication to physical media. Together, they launched a film club dedicated to screening movies exclusively on 16mm film, which initially ran weekly at the Castle Cinema in Clapton.
When rising operating costs threatened to close Umit & Son permanently, the pair turned to the community. Liam produced a documentary about the struggle to save the store, which they paired with a Kickstarter campaign. The appeal went viral, drawing support from 779 backers and securing the shop’s future.
A hands-on cinematheque
Today, the funds raised have allowed Ümit and Liam to build a dedicated screening room behind the main shop floor. The cinema draws from a private collection of over 200 feature films spanning 100 years of cinematic history.
Beyond operating as a retail space for rare memorabilia, Umit & Son now rents out its intimate screening room for private film nights and hosts regular public showings. The venue also runs hands-on workshops where attendees learn how to shoot, edit, and project on real analogue film.
For Ümit and Liam, the expanded shop functions as a working archive, giving a new generation the chance to handle physical media and keeping the tactile mechanics of traditional film projection alive.
