Capitalism hates them. Book lovers need them. Meet the stubborn dreamers keeping pages alive.
Booklovers, booksellers, storytellers and writers can easily squeeze into various demos of important issues. This documentary brings this group of people in the limelight, discussing the value of art space in bookshops. The book-loving director Kong King Chu visited independent bookshops in Hong Kong, Singapore and Malaysia for three to four years, tried to understand how a bookshop can become a dynamic, inspiring and heartwarming space, even these booksellers carry different attitude towards life, books and community, as well as management beliefs. These booksellers do not care about the commercial value emphasized by the capitalist society and they are content in their own way by sharing their enthusiasm about books with the others in spite of all difficulties. Thus, they keep trying new methods to sharpen their touch on social issues and become an important starting point for the general public to reflect upon conflicts in our society.
Direction
Kong's patient observation lets booksellers breathe and ramble beautifully
Production
Three years across three countries capturing fragile, essential spaces
Writing
Unscripted wisdom that hits harder than any scripted monologue
Director
Kong King-chu
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Filmed 2017-2020, capturing Hong Kong booksellers just before the 2019 protests and national security law reshaped independent publishing forever.
Director Kong originally planned 6 months; the project ballooned to four years because each bookseller kept revealing unexpected layers of community activism.
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