A bookstore owner has turned to film in a bid to improve the competitiveness of his business in the face of the increasing popularity of online purchasing.
Lu Wen-chun (盧文鈞), who owns a traditional bookstore in Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), has plans for a film exhibition at his store in October to increase exposure for his business.
Lu asked director Tseng Hsin-ying (曾馨瑩), photographer Lee Min-che (李旻哲) and producer Hsien Min-tsun (謝旻岑) to help make a two-minute video using 8mm film, called Old Street, Bookstores and Movie Theatres.
Photo: Huang Mei-chu, Taipei Times
The video, shot along Jhongjheng Street, shows vendors, heritage sites and children playing.
The video is expected to be put online before the end of the month in digital format, Lu said, adding that the actual 8mm film would be shown at the bookstore.
Lu said he plans to hold the exhibition every October to select the best short film or video on the theme of books and bookstores.
Awards are to be given in November and the bookshop is to air one video each month, Lu said, adding that if the event succeeds, his store would become a multipurpose shop for books and film.
Photographs of the filming and the scripts of the short films are to be sold in the shop, Lu said, adding that he would arrange an event where participants could talk with the filmmakers and scriptwriters.
Lu said his store does not focus on selling books, but operates on the “sustainable” concept of an exchange platform, rather than a profit-oriented enterprise.
Lu said that merging film and books to help promote his business is an experiment to allow physical bookstores to interact with the public from a different vantage point.
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