Bookwars (2000)

Original title

BookWars

Directed by

Jason Rosette

Genre

documentary film

Country

United States

Runtime

1h 19m

Rated

15

Rating

6.0 of 10 from 3 voters

Elsewhere

IMDb

How it feels

This documentary follows street booksellers in New York City during the late 1990s. It shows their daily lives and struggles against the city's quality of life campaign.

observationalgrittydocumentary-stylejazzyimpressionisticstreet-levelrebelliouslow-budget

What happens

BookWars is a New York bookseller documentary by Jason Rosette produced by Camerado, about the life and times of New York City street booksellers. Made on an ultra-low budget in a jazzy, impressionistic style reminiscent of the films of Robert Frank and poetry of the Beat Generation, BookWars is the only first-person documentary made during then-New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's controversial "Quality of Life" campaign, which sought to limit and control individuals engaged in informal economic activities on the streets of New York City. BookWars was released in June 2000, winning the Best Documentary Award at the 2000 New York Underground Film Festival and premiering theatrically at New York's Cinema Village. Despite its minuscule budget (estimated at $10,000, prerelease) BookWars enjoyed numerous domestic and international TV sales and has to date generated revenue of several hundred thousand dollars. (from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA)

Trailer

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