Umit & Son
35 Lower Clapton Rd, London E5 0NS

+44 20 8985 1766

Posted by Panayotis A. Carayannis

On a trip to London last Monday I decided to seek out this shop and find out what exactly they have to offer.I had already looked up on google what it had to say about this shop and Mr Umit and he is obviously quite a character in the area.
The shop is in Hackney near the central tube station.From the outside you are left in no doubt that this is a shop all about films and collecting.Outside the shop door are a pile of 35mm cans all showing there age.On entering the shop you find a counter to your left and a small walkway one person wide down into the shop.On either side you have film related "stuff " pilled high and low,be it projectors ,reels,cans of film of all gauges,posters ,dvds,video discs,you name it its there somewhere!!!!
On shelves at the back of the shop are 16mm titles,including I noticed "Star Wars" and "From Russia with Love".There was a sign saying ask for current list but I was told that this ceased some while back.
To me it felt like stepping back in time,there must be so much in the building that has not seen the light of day for some while,and although Mr Umit is a really great gentleman to talk too, he to I get the feeling is living in times gone by,and making the most of it.I would say he has had to compromise over his films and move all be it slowly into the digital age to some degree.
Mr Umit said he had a steady stream of customers / dealers whom he deals with ,hence it is very hit and miss as to what he has available on the day so to speak if you are looking to buy.Dean Martin film the Wrecking Crew took my eye till told the last quater of an hour or so was missing!
I'm glad I have been to see but to be honest I would not make a special trip just to go there,but well worth a look if you are in London and have some time on your hands.

Was he willing to sell anything?

Vidar,Yes if the price was right and you wanted it,the problem I had was the 16mm films he had were not what I wanted and those he did have a lot I had never heard of.
It would have been nice to have had a list with prices on so you have a starting point,not go through one film at a time.
Lets just say not quite what I expected.

I will be in London for a short trip this summer, and I am considering going there. Not sure my wife and kids will be ad enthusiastic, though :-) It is not close to the other tourist attractions :-)

Eivind,To be honest I doubt it will be of interest to wife and children,and there is not enough room for all of you in the shop....only joking there is not much space though.
It is not near the main tourist attractions it is some way out,very much depends on where you are staying and how much time you have,Also you do need to know your way around London in my opinion.

Great report / review there Gwyn. I must admit, i very much got the same impression having watched his videos!

I was within 3 mile of him last April, but it was Sunday and his shop was shut. I was there for my 50th celebrations and we had a ball, but I have to say 50th or not, I'd have been flying solo if I had paid him a visit on any other day. My wife won't go anywhere near a cine film!
I've completely drained her void of even any mild interest she may once have possibly had by my entire and completely utter fascination for all things Super 8mm! Super 8mm is a swear word in our house!

Got to agree Andrew,although Mrs M was with me she really was not interested in any of it,not I'm afraid a ladies place me thinks.......
I've been,I've seen.
Have a great day all📽📽

Certainly not ours anyhow Gwyn, it would appear!

Maybe Mark would be able to get away with it! 😂😂

I am not planning to bring them with me, really. But I do consider taking a little trip there on my own one day :-)

Go for it Eivind and let us know what you think in the fullness of time😃

Despite Gwen's misgivings,one simply MUST visit Umit. He has so many films that it is impossible not to find something of interest. And it is not at all difficult to find his shop.And he is very reasonable to deal with. I visited him only once,but two of my (Athenian) close friends have visited at least twice and always have come up with loads of films, both 8 and 16 mm.

Wow you've managed to change Gwyn's sex there Panayotis, sorry!😂😂😂

Oh,terribly sorry !!

😂😂😂😂😂

It's an easy slip of a finger mistake Panayotis. I'm sure Gwyn took it as such and went along with the humour of the unfortunate,yet somewhat amusing mishap.

We will be in London for just a few days. We usually have a tight program for our trips, but I hope to squeeze in a a trip to the shop. But it is not in the center, so I will use a bit of time with the subway if I am not mistaken. The other problem is getting things back to Norway as we don't travel with big suitcases :-) I guess I will have to stick with Super 8 then.

Panayotis,my name is easy to get wrong especially with predictive text,so I will let you off this time😃😃😃😃😃😃

Look forward to see what you make of the shop Eivind and have a great holiday 🍟🍺🍰🍦

It won't be before July. Both I and my wife love London.

It's certainly busy and very very manic, I will say that for it!
A great Buzz but I wouldn't ever want to live even anywhere near close to the centre though. I don't know how people ever get anything done there?