Torres Video Club: Ibiza resistance against the tyranny of algorithms

PalmThere was a time when you held the cinema in your hands and relied on recommendations from others, because algorithms didn't exist, nor were they expected. Leaving home, going to the video store, and renting a film is a habit that seems to have died out with the 20th century, but there are those who resist, in this case for the love of cinema. In Sant Antoni de Portmany, they have this privilege thanks to the Torres video store, run by five brothers since 1982, next to an electronics shop and the Regio cinema, which their godfather opened in 1931.

"We grew up with cinema, but I don't know how much longer we can hold out," says Sergio Torres, adding that he wouldn't recommend anyone open a video store unless it was "a complement to something else." Even so, Sergio hopes that "physical formats will come back into fashion" in film, as has happened with vinyl in music. Collecting is precisely one of the elements that gives meaning to the existence of video stores, along with human contact. "We have directors who come from Madrid to buy our films on Blu-ray. People who love cinema want to have the films at home, just like with books," Sergio points out, although he doesn't reveal the names of these customers.

Buying "air"

Professor of Audiovisual Communication, film critic, and collector Ivan Bort highlights the "generational shift" that has sidelined physical formats. "Video games are an example: you buy a case and there's nothing inside, just a code," he remarks. "On streaming platforms, it feels like you're making transactions with thin air, with smoke. You pay to access content for a limited time, content you can't control, content that comes and goes," he explains. In fact, Bort emphasizes the effort platforms make to promote their catalogs while, at the same time, "what they're losing goes unnoticed." "If you want to watch something, you're limited to what the platform has, which, moreover, holds the original content hostage. This way, you have to pay the monthly fee." inaeternum"He insists. This critic believes that the existence of the physical format should be considered "a matter of added value." "When you buy a movie, you can have, for example, an audio commentary, and streaming platforms don't offer that," he adds.

As for the human element, interaction on the platforms isn't real-time, even though users can leave ratings for a film. "People ask us what they can watch and about films they're not sure they'll find. We offer information about the product, while on the platforms you're limited to looking at user ratings. There's a lot of content, and we offer something much more personalized," explains Sergio Torres.

Neus Prats, one of the partners at the Torres video store, confirms this. "A video store is culture, especially today when social media and streaming platforms keep you stuck at home," she says, explaining that, in addition to DVDs and Blu-rays, the Torres brothers also stock thousands of VHS tapes—a format for which players are hard to find. "They're incredibly rare titles, ones you'll never find on any platform. Going there is a wonderful feeling, like going back to the days when you knew the shopkeeper. You make comments and talk about the impression the films made on you. Besides, they do it out of love for cinema, because they don't make any money from it," she adds.

One of the things Sergio recalls during his conversation with ARA Baleares, just before hanging up, is the raffles for members that the video store used to hold at Christmas. "We gave away prizes like trips, VHS players, Game Boys, movie bundles... It was a real celebration," he says. "These things have gradually disappeared," he laments.

The Regio Cinema

Besides the video rental store, the Torres brothers also run the Regio cinema. The result is that a town with fewer than 30,000 inhabitants, like Sant Antoni de Portmany, has not only a video rental store but also a cinema in its town center that's nothing like the ones in large shopping centers found on the outskirts of many Balearic municipalities. "My godfather started it in 1931, when he used to come with a cart and a mule. He'd turn the projector around and have a summer and a winter cinema: in summer it was outdoors, and in winter, in a covered area. People would bring their own chairs to watch the film," recalls Sergio Torres. "We operate like any other cinema, showing first-run movies. But, since we only have one screen, sometimes we make the wrong choices and flop!" he explains, laughing heartily.

One of the most important initiatives they carry out is the Zinètic cycle, a commitment to alternative cinema in its original version – on January 9th they will screen Bugonia"The Yorgos Lanthimos film—which has been running for eight years—is very successful, even though these are films that, theoretically, should be for a minority audience. You think nobody will go and then you see that it's packed. It's very impressive," says Neus Prats.