“Lovely and wistful … a documentary for anyone who can still look at a book and see a dream, a magic teleportation device, an object that contains the world.” — Variety
The long weekend is upon us, and we’re looking for things to do. But entertainment establishments remain closed in many states, and some, sadly, will never reopen thanks to lost revenue during the quarantine. This is especially true of local arthouse film theaters — already a financially challenging business even in the best of times.
The movie production company Greenwich Entertainment has devised a way for you to help your local theater stay afloat. How? By buying a ticket to watch its 2019 film, The Booksellers.
Antiquarian booksellers are part scholar, part detective and part businessperson, and their personalities and knowledge are as broad as the material they handle. They also play an underappreciated yet essential role in preserving history. The Booksellers takes viewers inside their small but fascinating world, populated by an assortment of obsessives, intellects, eccentrics and dreamers.
Executive produced by Parker Posey and directed by D.W. Young, the 99-minute film features interviews with some of the most important dealers in the business, as well as prominent collectors, auctioneers, and writers such as Fran Lebowitz, Susan Orlean, Kevin Young and Gay Talese.
When you buy a ticket for The Booksellers, as much as 50% of the proceeds go the theater of your choice. A list of participating theaters can be found alphabetically here. If your local theater isn’t listed, you have the option to support the Antiquarian Booksellers’ Association of America or Bookshop.org. Viewing is via online streaming and there are easy-to-follow instructions to get you quickly set up and watching.