June 27, 2026 • 13 mins
Director Justin Zoras walked past a bookstore in a small town in Nova Scotia one night, and this experience went on to inspire a documentary.
Elizabeth's Books is run by 83-year-old former seaman Chris Webb and the store only opens at night - sometimes for a few hours or whenever the last customer leaves.
Justin Zoras went on to use the store for The Bookstore That Never Sleeps, which is about to have its world premiere at DocEdge.
"It's one of those things where you immediately see the store, it's open at night, and you immediately want to go - hey, that's quirky or that's odd. Which, frankly, it is. But when you actually talk to people about it and you say - hey, have you seen that bookstore? Have you walked by it, what's the deal there? And a lot of the time, people will go - oh that's just Chris...there's a story."
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Speaker 1 (00:06):
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks edb SO.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
While out walking one night in a small town in
Nova Scotia, film director justin's or As stumbled across a
very special bookstore. Elizabeth's Books, opens only at night. There's
no sit ours. It just closes when the last customer leaves.
Justin got curious and he stuck around, and naturally, the
story of Elizabeth's Books and its owner, Chriss is now
a film.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
I'm a night person. When I was at sea, I
did watches round the clock, and I found that I
much preferred the night watches. I felt much more comfortable
working at night. People are out on the street walking around.
(00:56):
There's nothing else open. Everything else is closed by about
five or six pm. But I'm still here.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
The book Store that Never Sleeps is having its world
premiere at the dock Edge Film Festival today. Director Justin
Zoris has very kindly coming to the studio. Welcome Justin,
good morning.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Thanks for having me here. This is great.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
First of all, can we please just talk about Lndenberg,
Nova Scotia. What a ridiculously picturesque town. It's crazy tell
me about it.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
It's a tourist town in the South Shore, and it's picturesque.
You could definitely, you know, take a photo, put it
on a postcard and it's just such a beautiful, wonderful place.
The people are fantastic. There's loss of you lost to see.
But unfortunately around five or six pm when the sun
starts to go down, not a lot on the go there,
so which is great, it's gorgeous. But that's how I
(01:53):
stumbled across the certain stores after the sun went down.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Are you from there or were you visiting?
Speaker 5 (01:58):
So I'm from Nova Scotia, but I do a lot
of work in TV and reality unscripted, and so you know,
certainly they kind of bounce you around the province basically
where the stories are.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
They send you a lot of the time.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
When you work in my field, they put you up
in you know, the Motel six or like the Airbnb,
not like the greatest thing. So of course, when you're
doing a shoot in the South Shore and they put
you up in Lunenberg, it's it's a treat. So that's
kind of how I stumbled across the store. Was you know,
you're working a long day on set twelve hours and
then once you're done, you kind of want to, you know,
grab a pint somewhere or grab it, you know, something
(02:30):
to eat. And as you're walking through the town and
there's not a lot of the go, you just see
this light spilling out on the street.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
So naturally, being curious, you know, I have to kind
of go in there and investigate.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So I did think one of the benefits of opening
the shop in the evening was you could always get
a park outside, you know what I mean. I'm very
easy to just get a car pack outside and get
on it. Chris is now the owner of the shop.
Can you tell me about Chris Chris Is?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
He's so special.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
It's one of those things where you know, immediately you
see the store it's open at night, and immediately want
to go, hey, that's quirky or that's odd, which frankly
it is. But you know, when you actually talk to
people about it and you say, hey, like have you
seen that bookstore or have you walked by it, like
what's the deal there, a lot of the time the
people in the town will say, oh, that's just Chris.
So it's one of those things of you know, once
(03:15):
you say that, you're like, oh, there's a story here,
and there's a person here with a big heart. So
I think one thing that kind of speaks to how
sweet and kind he is is that the moment you
walk in the store, he greets you and he has
a chair next to his desk. So a lot of
the time you walk in the bookstore and you see
a kioskar, you know, and enter the book here there's
an associate running around with stacks of book in their hands.
But with Chris, he's seated and he's welcome, welcomes you in,
(03:36):
and he invites you to sit down, And I think
the moment that you sit down, you know, okay, this
is special and this is a really unique place.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And then what happens once you sit down get out,
he just does he just kind of ask you something
about yourself.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, you see.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
It starts off with a bit of a conversation and
a lot of it is like, okay, this is the
layout of the story. Here are the books that we sell. Okay,
and then great, and then we just talk about our
passions and we talk about you know, what makes you know,
you know, this evening book store so special and ters
of hey, you have time to talk about things, you
have time to look into things. You'll point at a
book at the shelf and you get up and kind of,
you know, look at it and bring it back and
talk about it. You know, it seems like he has
(04:11):
a story for every book in the store. Which makes
it really special is that you can talk about one
really obscure book or one very obscure thing, and he
knows something about it and he wants to share that
with you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So when you walked in, you sat down in that seat,
how long did it tank for you to know that
there was a story that you wanted to capture on film?
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Almost instantly, and I think it was certainly his picturesque.
So of course, you know, you look at him and
you know he looks like something out of like a
Wes Anderson film. But you know, you sit down and
you realize, you know, he doesn't really talk about himself.
He talks about other people in the town and the beauty.
And so as you're sitting there, you're almost imagining these
things in your head. And of course, because I have
a very you know, cinematic you know, lens and eye,
(04:48):
it was really easy for me to put it together.
So I think it was almost instantly. Chris didn't necessarily
want to do a documentary. It was sort of thing
that you know, he goes, you know, who wants to
do a documentary about me? And I'm there kind of
banging my head on the table like on like loads
of people would love.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
To do one about you.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
But uh, yeah, I'm glad it worked out. I'm glad
that over the years, because you know, I got to
know him through years of kind of going in there
and buying books and sitting down and I think over
the years it was, you know, we built this trust
and connection and it was time interesting.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
So it wasn't like you stumbled across it and went,
I have to make this film, and I'm going to
you know, I'm going to make it in the next
you know, immediately it took a little while to get
him on board, and I can understand why. It comes
from such an interesting background. He was a seaman for
decades and decades, and you know, clearly there's some sort
of PTSD there and he narrates his story to us,
(05:37):
how did you decide what to use in the film?
Speaker 5 (05:41):
So we want to use a lot of it, and
so but we also knew that we couldn't just make
the film ten minutes long. We couldn't just say, hey,
this is a Courney store Bata Boom, and that's it.
We know that there's so much depth there and so
much history there that we wanted to explore. I think
the big thing for us, what kind of brought us
back was that we wanted to make sure we you know,
try to make sure that we show an evening in
(06:02):
the store, So we want to make sure we capture
the town during the day, the experience as a customer
when you walk in and as he tells the story,
you're almost like along for the ride. So conveniently, it
kind of works in a really interesting three acts structure,
so I didn't really have to do a whole lot
in terms of, hey, we have to move this bit here,
this story here, et cetera. You're just sort of along
for the ride, and so I think that's kind of
(06:23):
what makes the story really interesting, where a lot of
the time you'll watch a movie and you'll watch a
TV show and it's very structured. It's very much, hey,
we need action here, we need some sort of conflict here,
et cetera, and you know, to me. I wanted to
make the documentary, as you know, as close to the
experience as possible, and just conveniently it worked out as
a beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah. And as I said, it's clear he's had this
really full on life, some pretty grueling stories to tell,
especially at sea, and you don't pressure him to share
a huge amount of detail, and it's like you're trying
to match his restraint with the film is trying to
match his restraint. Is that a fair comment to make
because you didn't need the detail, you can you can
(07:02):
see the impact of his you know, and what he's
going through on his face and the way he tells
a story.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
Yeah. I also feel that less is more.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
I think that's sort of the thing in this age
of when you're watching content on your phone or TV
or online, they really kind of get to the punchline
really quickly, or they really shove it in your face,
you know, quite fast. And I think with Chris, you know,
just being there and seated with him for hours talking
to him, you can feel that weight and that, you know,
in terms of his grief and the things that he
struggles with.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
And I think that's enough. And I think that comes
across them.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I think probably what I was trying to say was
there is power not saying everything exactly, but showing it,
which is what this film does.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Yeah, and I also feel that, you know, with the imagery,
it really reflects what Chris says. So what's what's beautiful
is that, you know, we sat down with Chris and
we shot for about six hours. We just sat and talked,
and then once we had that, we really you know,
everything you see in the film, any shots of the
ocean or the town, it's all reflective of what he says.
So that's why sometimes you know, when he's saying less
(08:00):
or when he's kind of hinting at things and you're
seeing the images on the screen, you're like, wow, this
is a beautiful you know, marriage of soundbites. And also
you know what you're seeing on the screen.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
He's such a lovely man. We learned throughout the film
that he each night he reads for an hour or
so to a ninety two year old woman who can
no longer read, she's lost her eyesights gone for reading.
It's such a lovely act of kindness and it kind
of reminded me about what we were all like during Lockdown.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Oh No, we're going to go there.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I'm going to go there because I was just like,
he does this beautiful thing, and he does it night
after night because he would love someone to read to
him if he couldn't read. It's that simple, right, And
it's this beautiful act of kindness, And that's a word
kindness sort of triggers a few people in New Zealand
these days when we talk about lockdown. But I did think, gosh,
you know, we came out of that and we learned
so much about how we can look after each other.
(08:50):
And yet in a way, just the world's just thrown
so much at us, we're just back into our very
individualist lives.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Yeah, And I also feel that that's you know, that's
only one small thing that he does, and I think
it's a huge deal, and it certainly it's a highlight
of the actual film, but you know, he does so
many small gestures and kindness and and I think it
speaks to the person that he is and how he
lives his life and kind of you know, what he
wants people to take away from coming into the store,
(09:17):
you know, and this is something that he isn't really
told about. It's not something that you know, I go
in the store and he tells me this right off
the bat. So as a day to day customer, they
don't really know about these things. But certainly I've gone
in there at night and seen him on the phone
and he'll even say like hold on and hold his
hand up as he's finishing the last page in the
last chapter and closes it and then says, you know,
good night to his.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Friend on the phone.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
And I just think that's that's so sweet in a
world where it can be you know, often just you know,
miserable and negative to have one sweet spot.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Yeah happening, and we get to highlight that it's so important.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
It really is a sanctuary, this this job. And in
a way, I it made me think about the role
that our overnight talkback hosts play here on newstooks. You'd
be no, because it's all about providing that air, that comfort,
that companionship, the sense that you're not on your own.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Yeah, And I also feel that it's important to have
the Yeah, it's so important. And you know, I think
a lot of it too is that you know, people
who visit the town specifically and they're out and about
and they just have no idea where to go or
where to look, or there's night owls. There are people
that will just take long drives to the town knowing
that there's something there and there for them to walk
in and discover. And you know, I think, you know,
(10:28):
the fact that he does that, there's many people around
the world that do that and have those you know,
those jobs and passions I think are.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Just as fantastic.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Okay, So what's it like going from making television. I
know that you've been directing and producing for a long time,
but as you say, sort of reality s through to
making a documentary, right.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
It's it's different, and in a good way. I found
it really refreshing. I feel like when you're dealing with
a lot of unscripted and reality shows, there's you know,
certainly a lot of structure.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
There's certain a.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
Lot of you know, beats that we need to get like, hey,
we need to make sure that you know, we're highlighting
this sort of tension or conflict. But I feel like
the skill set is the same in terms of you're
sitting down with you know, ordinary folks and there's a
story that you need to bring out of them. And
I think with Chris was you know, a natural thing
that we had to do, and it's it's easier for
me because I have built a year long rapport with
(11:13):
him of going in there, sitting down.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
And talking to him.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
But you're it was odd when you had to switch
gears because I went from a customer to someone who's
doing a documentary, and so a lot of it was
a lot of the questions I would ask, you know,
prior to filming was like, oh, hey, have you read
this book?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Have you done this?
Speaker 5 (11:28):
And then of course once the cameras are up and
we're filming, it's like tell me about your life, or
tell me about your earliest childhood memory.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
And it's kind of at first he was like what,
like where where's this going? You know?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
So we should also probably say that this probably is
about forty thousand books in this shop, but the majority
of them are not actually for sale because Chris hasn't
read them yet and you'd like to read the moment.
This is not a commercial sort of wrote operation, is it? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
I know, And it's sort of a thing of you
can physically see it. He's surrounded by five books. And
the one thing I'll say too is that this is
something that we couldn't include in the documentary that I
would absolutely love to. But Chris also rents DVDs and
it's one spot that I wanted, I wanted to break
bring it in, but we just didn't have time. But
there's a whole area of the story that we just
didn't film that just walled a wall with DVDs, And
(12:14):
you know, I think that speaks to him as well
as that even if you don't love books, you don't
love like reading, there's something here for you.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Which is so important.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Justin thank you so much for the film and introducing
us to Chris, he's been that a light to meet
him really has fain. So I wish you all the best.
Is this the beginning? Do you think this is documentaries
is your thing?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Now?
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Maybe? Yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:33):
I think a lot of it is that I think
you need to kind of have many irons in the fire.
So I definitely have more documentary stories that I'd love
to tell. But then there's also a lot of you know,
TV unscripted stuff that you know, there's stories out there
too to tell.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
So well, the Nova Scotia Tourism Board should be thanking
you as well, because my goodness, it's gone on my
lists of places I must go.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
And you definitely need to come up and check the story.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Oh, thank you so much. The Bookstore That Never Sleeps
will have its world premiere as part of the dock
Eage in Auckland this afternoon. If you're around, head along.
There are more screenings before it will be available online
to view as well, so for more information head to
doc E dot m Z.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks a B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
You're listening to the Sunday Session podcast with Francesca Rudgin
from News Talks edb SO.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
While out walking one night in a small town in
Nova Scotia, film director justin's or As stumbled across a
very special bookstore. Elizabeth's Books, opens only at night. There's
no sit ours. It just closes when the last customer leaves.
Justin got curious and he stuck around, and naturally, the
story of Elizabeth's Books and its owner, Chriss is now
a film.
Speaker 3 (00:34):
I'm a night person. When I was at sea, I
did watches round the clock, and I found that I
much preferred the night watches. I felt much more comfortable
working at night. People are out on the street walking around.
(00:56):
There's nothing else open. Everything else is closed by about
five or six pm. But I'm still here.
Speaker 2 (01:06):
The book Store that Never Sleeps is having its world
premiere at the dock Edge Film Festival today. Director Justin
Zoris has very kindly coming to the studio. Welcome Justin,
good morning.
Speaker 4 (01:15):
Thanks for having me here. This is great.
Speaker 2 (01:18):
First of all, can we please just talk about Lndenberg,
Nova Scotia. What a ridiculously picturesque town. It's crazy tell
me about it.
Speaker 4 (01:29):
Unbelievable.
Speaker 5 (01:30):
It's a tourist town in the South Shore, and it's picturesque.
You could definitely, you know, take a photo, put it
on a postcard and it's just such a beautiful, wonderful place.
The people are fantastic. There's loss of you lost to see.
But unfortunately around five or six pm when the sun
starts to go down, not a lot on the go there,
so which is great, it's gorgeous. But that's how I
(01:53):
stumbled across the certain stores after the sun went down.
Speaker 2 (01:56):
Are you from there or were you visiting?
Speaker 5 (01:58):
So I'm from Nova Scotia, but I do a lot
of work in TV and reality unscripted, and so you know,
certainly they kind of bounce you around the province basically
where the stories are.
Speaker 4 (02:08):
They send you a lot of the time.
Speaker 5 (02:10):
When you work in my field, they put you up
in you know, the Motel six or like the Airbnb,
not like the greatest thing. So of course, when you're
doing a shoot in the South Shore and they put
you up in Lunenberg, it's it's a treat. So that's
kind of how I stumbled across the store. Was you know,
you're working a long day on set twelve hours and
then once you're done, you kind of want to, you know,
grab a pint somewhere or grab it, you know, something
(02:30):
to eat. And as you're walking through the town and
there's not a lot of the go, you just see
this light spilling out on the street.
Speaker 4 (02:35):
So naturally, being curious, you know, I have to kind
of go in there and investigate.
Speaker 2 (02:39):
So I did think one of the benefits of opening
the shop in the evening was you could always get
a park outside, you know what I mean. I'm very
easy to just get a car pack outside and get
on it. Chris is now the owner of the shop.
Can you tell me about Chris Chris Is?
Speaker 4 (02:53):
He's so special.
Speaker 5 (02:54):
It's one of those things where you know, immediately you
see the store it's open at night, and immediately want
to go, hey, that's quirky or that's odd, which frankly
it is. But you know, when you actually talk to
people about it and you say, hey, like have you
seen that bookstore or have you walked by it, like
what's the deal there, a lot of the time the
people in the town will say, oh, that's just Chris.
So it's one of those things of you know, once
(03:15):
you say that, you're like, oh, there's a story here,
and there's a person here with a big heart. So
I think one thing that kind of speaks to how
sweet and kind he is is that the moment you
walk in the store, he greets you and he has
a chair next to his desk. So a lot of
the time you walk in the bookstore and you see
a kioskar, you know, and enter the book here there's
an associate running around with stacks of book in their hands.
But with Chris, he's seated and he's welcome, welcomes you in,
(03:36):
and he invites you to sit down, And I think
the moment that you sit down, you know, okay, this
is special and this is a really unique place.
Speaker 2 (03:41):
And then what happens once you sit down get out,
he just does he just kind of ask you something
about yourself.
Speaker 3 (03:48):
Yeah, you see.
Speaker 5 (03:49):
It starts off with a bit of a conversation and
a lot of it is like, okay, this is the
layout of the story. Here are the books that we sell. Okay,
and then great, and then we just talk about our
passions and we talk about you know, what makes you know,
you know, this evening book store so special and ters
of hey, you have time to talk about things, you
have time to look into things. You'll point at a
book at the shelf and you get up and kind of,
you know, look at it and bring it back and
talk about it. You know, it seems like he has
(04:11):
a story for every book in the store. Which makes
it really special is that you can talk about one
really obscure book or one very obscure thing, and he
knows something about it and he wants to share that
with you.
Speaker 2 (04:20):
So when you walked in, you sat down in that seat,
how long did it tank for you to know that
there was a story that you wanted to capture on film?
Speaker 5 (04:26):
Almost instantly, and I think it was certainly his picturesque.
So of course, you know, you look at him and
you know he looks like something out of like a
Wes Anderson film. But you know, you sit down and
you realize, you know, he doesn't really talk about himself.
He talks about other people in the town and the beauty.
And so as you're sitting there, you're almost imagining these
things in your head. And of course, because I have
a very you know, cinematic you know, lens and eye,
(04:48):
it was really easy for me to put it together.
So I think it was almost instantly. Chris didn't necessarily
want to do a documentary. It was sort of thing
that you know, he goes, you know, who wants to
do a documentary about me? And I'm there kind of
banging my head on the table like on like loads
of people would love.
Speaker 4 (05:01):
To do one about you.
Speaker 5 (05:03):
But uh, yeah, I'm glad it worked out. I'm glad
that over the years, because you know, I got to
know him through years of kind of going in there
and buying books and sitting down and I think over
the years it was, you know, we built this trust
and connection and it was time interesting.
Speaker 2 (05:16):
So it wasn't like you stumbled across it and went,
I have to make this film, and I'm going to
you know, I'm going to make it in the next
you know, immediately it took a little while to get
him on board, and I can understand why. It comes
from such an interesting background. He was a seaman for
decades and decades, and you know, clearly there's some sort
of PTSD there and he narrates his story to us,
(05:37):
how did you decide what to use in the film?
Speaker 5 (05:41):
So we want to use a lot of it, and
so but we also knew that we couldn't just make
the film ten minutes long. We couldn't just say, hey,
this is a Courney store Bata Boom, and that's it.
We know that there's so much depth there and so
much history there that we wanted to explore. I think
the big thing for us, what kind of brought us
back was that we wanted to make sure we you know,
try to make sure that we show an evening in
(06:02):
the store, So we want to make sure we capture
the town during the day, the experience as a customer
when you walk in and as he tells the story,
you're almost like along for the ride. So conveniently, it
kind of works in a really interesting three acts structure,
so I didn't really have to do a whole lot
in terms of, hey, we have to move this bit here,
this story here, et cetera. You're just sort of along
for the ride, and so I think that's kind of
(06:23):
what makes the story really interesting, where a lot of
the time you'll watch a movie and you'll watch a
TV show and it's very structured. It's very much, hey,
we need action here, we need some sort of conflict here,
et cetera, and you know, to me. I wanted to
make the documentary, as you know, as close to the
experience as possible, and just conveniently it worked out as
a beautiful story.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
Yeah. And as I said, it's clear he's had this
really full on life, some pretty grueling stories to tell,
especially at sea, and you don't pressure him to share
a huge amount of detail, and it's like you're trying
to match his restraint with the film is trying to
match his restraint. Is that a fair comment to make
because you didn't need the detail, you can you can
(07:02):
see the impact of his you know, and what he's
going through on his face and the way he tells
a story.
Speaker 4 (07:08):
Yeah. I also feel that less is more.
Speaker 5 (07:10):
I think that's sort of the thing in this age
of when you're watching content on your phone or TV
or online, they really kind of get to the punchline
really quickly, or they really shove it in your face,
you know, quite fast. And I think with Chris, you know,
just being there and seated with him for hours talking
to him, you can feel that weight and that, you know,
in terms of his grief and the things that he
struggles with.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
And I think that's enough. And I think that comes
across them.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
I think probably what I was trying to say was
there is power not saying everything exactly, but showing it,
which is what this film does.
Speaker 5 (07:39):
Yeah, and I also feel that, you know, with the imagery,
it really reflects what Chris says. So what's what's beautiful
is that, you know, we sat down with Chris and
we shot for about six hours. We just sat and talked,
and then once we had that, we really you know,
everything you see in the film, any shots of the
ocean or the town, it's all reflective of what he says.
So that's why sometimes you know, when he's saying less
(08:00):
or when he's kind of hinting at things and you're
seeing the images on the screen, you're like, wow, this
is a beautiful you know, marriage of soundbites. And also
you know what you're seeing on the screen.
Speaker 2 (08:10):
He's such a lovely man. We learned throughout the film
that he each night he reads for an hour or
so to a ninety two year old woman who can
no longer read, she's lost her eyesights gone for reading.
It's such a lovely act of kindness and it kind
of reminded me about what we were all like during Lockdown.
Speaker 4 (08:26):
Oh No, we're going to go there.
Speaker 2 (08:28):
I'm going to go there because I was just like,
he does this beautiful thing, and he does it night
after night because he would love someone to read to
him if he couldn't read. It's that simple, right, And
it's this beautiful act of kindness, And that's a word
kindness sort of triggers a few people in New Zealand
these days when we talk about lockdown. But I did think, gosh,
you know, we came out of that and we learned
so much about how we can look after each other.
(08:50):
And yet in a way, just the world's just thrown
so much at us, we're just back into our very
individualist lives.
Speaker 5 (08:56):
Yeah, And I also feel that that's you know, that's
only one small thing that he does, and I think
it's a huge deal, and it certainly it's a highlight
of the actual film, but you know, he does so
many small gestures and kindness and and I think it
speaks to the person that he is and how he
lives his life and kind of you know, what he
wants people to take away from coming into the store,
(09:17):
you know, and this is something that he isn't really
told about. It's not something that you know, I go
in the store and he tells me this right off
the bat. So as a day to day customer, they
don't really know about these things. But certainly I've gone
in there at night and seen him on the phone
and he'll even say like hold on and hold his
hand up as he's finishing the last page in the
last chapter and closes it and then says, you know,
good night to his.
Speaker 4 (09:36):
Friend on the phone.
Speaker 5 (09:36):
And I just think that's that's so sweet in a
world where it can be you know, often just you know,
miserable and negative to have one sweet spot.
Speaker 4 (09:44):
Yeah happening, and we get to highlight that it's so important.
Speaker 2 (09:46):
It really is a sanctuary, this this job. And in
a way, I it made me think about the role
that our overnight talkback hosts play here on newstooks. You'd
be no, because it's all about providing that air, that comfort,
that companionship, the sense that you're not on your own.
Speaker 5 (10:07):
Yeah, And I also feel that it's important to have
the Yeah, it's so important. And you know, I think
a lot of it too is that you know, people
who visit the town specifically and they're out and about
and they just have no idea where to go or
where to look, or there's night owls. There are people
that will just take long drives to the town knowing
that there's something there and there for them to walk
in and discover. And you know, I think, you know,
(10:28):
the fact that he does that, there's many people around
the world that do that and have those you know,
those jobs and passions I think are.
Speaker 4 (10:33):
Just as fantastic.
Speaker 2 (10:34):
Okay, So what's it like going from making television. I
know that you've been directing and producing for a long time,
but as you say, sort of reality s through to
making a documentary, right.
Speaker 5 (10:42):
It's it's different, and in a good way. I found
it really refreshing. I feel like when you're dealing with
a lot of unscripted and reality shows, there's you know,
certainly a lot of structure.
Speaker 4 (10:52):
There's certain a.
Speaker 5 (10:52):
Lot of you know, beats that we need to get like, hey,
we need to make sure that you know, we're highlighting
this sort of tension or conflict. But I feel like
the skill set is the same in terms of you're
sitting down with you know, ordinary folks and there's a
story that you need to bring out of them. And
I think with Chris was you know, a natural thing
that we had to do, and it's it's easier for
me because I have built a year long rapport with
(11:13):
him of going in there, sitting down.
Speaker 4 (11:15):
And talking to him.
Speaker 5 (11:16):
But you're it was odd when you had to switch
gears because I went from a customer to someone who's
doing a documentary, and so a lot of it was
a lot of the questions I would ask, you know,
prior to filming was like, oh, hey, have you read
this book?
Speaker 4 (11:27):
Have you done this?
Speaker 5 (11:28):
And then of course once the cameras are up and
we're filming, it's like tell me about your life, or
tell me about your earliest childhood memory.
Speaker 4 (11:33):
And it's kind of at first he was like what,
like where where's this going? You know?
Speaker 2 (11:37):
So we should also probably say that this probably is
about forty thousand books in this shop, but the majority
of them are not actually for sale because Chris hasn't
read them yet and you'd like to read the moment.
This is not a commercial sort of wrote operation, is it? Yeah?
Speaker 5 (11:52):
I know, And it's sort of a thing of you
can physically see it. He's surrounded by five books. And
the one thing I'll say too is that this is
something that we couldn't include in the documentary that I
would absolutely love to. But Chris also rents DVDs and
it's one spot that I wanted, I wanted to break
bring it in, but we just didn't have time. But
there's a whole area of the story that we just
didn't film that just walled a wall with DVDs, And
(12:14):
you know, I think that speaks to him as well
as that even if you don't love books, you don't
love like reading, there's something here for you.
Speaker 4 (12:20):
Which is so important.
Speaker 2 (12:22):
Justin thank you so much for the film and introducing
us to Chris, he's been that a light to meet
him really has fain. So I wish you all the best.
Is this the beginning? Do you think this is documentaries
is your thing?
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Now?
Speaker 4 (12:33):
Maybe? Yeah.
Speaker 5 (12:33):
I think a lot of it is that I think
you need to kind of have many irons in the fire.
So I definitely have more documentary stories that I'd love
to tell. But then there's also a lot of you know,
TV unscripted stuff that you know, there's stories out there
too to tell.
Speaker 2 (12:43):
So well, the Nova Scotia Tourism Board should be thanking
you as well, because my goodness, it's gone on my
lists of places I must go.
Speaker 4 (12:49):
And you definitely need to come up and check the story.
Speaker 2 (12:52):
Oh, thank you so much. The Bookstore That Never Sleeps
will have its world premiere as part of the dock
Eage in Auckland this afternoon. If you're around, head along.
There are more screenings before it will be available online
to view as well, so for more information head to
doc E dot m Z.
Speaker 1 (13:08):
For more from the Sunday session with Francesca Rudkin, listen
live to News Talks a B from nine am Sunday,
or follow the podcast on iHeartRadio
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