A Toronto man is spreading his love for films one café at a time, especially most recently in the Annex, and is encouraging others to do the same.
Nestled in six coffee shops across the city are community movie libraries, a vast collection of classic films and television shows available on DVD and VHS. From animations to westerns and everything in between, anything in the library is up for grabs free of charge, with just one rule – in order to take one, you must leave one in exchange.
Brazilian screenwriter and film enthusiast Leandro Matos is the brains behind the initiative, with an aim to share his hundreds of films – some personally collected and many donated – with other movie-lovers in the city. Inspired by fellow Toronto resident Travis MacLachlan, who launched Ontario’s first Free Blockbuster in 2023, Matos wanted to start a project that would not only broaden film appreciation but also hold borrowers accountable. Thus, he took his plan to local coffee shops.
“What I came up with is that the [Free Blockbuster] boxes are left unguarded on the streets… a lot of coffee shops in town have books that people can borrow. So, maybe in a coffee shop, at least the collection is being monitored, maybe that will inhibit people from just taking films and not leaving anything,” Matos explained to Now Toronto on Wednesday.
Louie Coffee Shop, located at the Toronto Carpet Factory, was the first shop to receive a library in 2024, donning a “perfect” windowsill to host an array of films, Matos said.
After receiving a positive response from the café, he quickly expanded to four more; The Abbott of Parkdale, Extra Butter Coffee in Roncesvalles, Full of Beans in Little Portugal, and Snakes & Lattes on College Street. He says Torontonians are taking advantage of the free libraries, and describes the feedback as “amazing.”
“The reception is always like ‘such a cool idea, such a cool initiative, thank you for doing that, it’s so fun,’” he said.
NEW DVD LIBRARY IN SNAKES & LATTES
As of a few days ago, Snakes & Lattes’ location in the Annex neighbourhood is Matos’ latest partnership. The coffee shop, known for its board games and trivia nights, said it welcomes the library as another extension of community.
“We think it’s a sweet idea,” Snakes & Lattes Director of Marketing Anaïs Guilbert said in an email to Now Toronto on Wednesday.
“Snakes & Lattes is all about bringing people together, and the DVD library adds another way for folks to share things they love. It’s low-key, nostalgic, and community-driven. Just like board games, DVDs are something people can connect over.”
Matos, who attributes his love for film to spending days in his aunt’s VHS rental stores in Rio de Janeiro as a child, credited films like The Godfather and Home Alone to opening his eyes to the world of film. While many might opt for streaming services to watch iconic films of the past in the present, he emphasized the importance of physical media for those without that kind of access.
“A lot of people collect films. I also think that a lot of people don’t have money to pay for streaming services but they maybe have a VHS player or a DVD player at home. So, having a library like that is a way to give people that maybe don’t have access to streaming, culture, and access to entertainment and film,” he said.
“I was re-watching ‘Beverly Hills 90210,’ and then in the middle of me bingeing 10 seasons of the show, Paramount+ took it off, so I can’t finish watching that. But with physical media, you know that you don’t have to look around or be afraid that you’re going to miss something.”
As he plans to expand the project to the fullest extent possible, Matos also encourages Torontonians with extra DVDs and VHS tapes on hand to donate directly to him, in order to refrain from overwhelming the shops. Matos can be reached via his various social media platforms.
“I’m going to look for another coffee shop for sure,” he said.
“I love the movement. And I am a collector. So, for me, having the movement of the films is a great way for me to see if I can find something that I want too!”
