Poetries from the Bookstores (Hou Chi-Jan) Taiwan |

Poetries from the Bookstores: Somewhere I belong
Hou Chi-Jan
Taiwan. 2025. 93 min

Testimonies from passionate proprietors reveal the diversity of Taiwan’s independent bookshops, all with a distinct style and flair. Centring on the most human aspects of each, Hou Chi-jan’s documentary reinvigorates a love for these charming establishments as a second home.

At the intersection of intellectual spirit and a desire for genuine human connection lies Taiwan’s welcoming bookstore culture. Shops are places to browse texts as well as havens for reflection, discovery and connection; here, interests are traded, tea is shared and furry friends cohabit. In the end, it doesn’t matter whether the stores are neatly inventoried or a creative mishmash of items; the warmth and the familiar scent emanate from every hand-picked book placed gently on a shelf.

In Poetries from the Bookstores: Somewhere I Belong, Taipei-based filmmaker Hou Chi-jan combines 15 short vignettes of independent bookshops across Taiwan, part of his broader 2013–2024 project documenting 120 shops. Hou captures the bookstore not only as a physical marketplace, but also as a community space and even a state of mind. Passionate shop owners invite us into their little corner of the universe, sharing how their bookstores are intertwined with the presence of nature, traditions or loved ones. Poetries from the Bookstores showcases the beauty of third spaces as well as the small joys that lie within and between our beloved books.

HOU CHI-JAN

Hou CHI-JAN (Taiwan) is a filmmaker and writer whose work is often lyrical and experimental, exploring themes of time and memory. His first short, Stardust 15749001 (2003), won first prize at the Taipei Film Festival. His documentary Taiwan Black Movies (2005) was selected for IFFR 2006 and the Tokyo International Film Festival and was nominated for the Golden Horse Award for Best Documentary. His script for When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep won the top prize in the Taipei Film Commission’s first screenwriting competition. His latest documentary, Poetries from the Bookstores: Somewhere I Belong (2025), continues his series on Taiwan’s bookstores and premieres at IFFR 2026.

FILMOGRAPHY

Stardust 15749001 (2003, short), My 747 (2005, short), Taiwan Black Movies (2005, doc), Shopping Cart Boy (2007, short), Upper (2008), One Day (2010), When a Wolf Falls in Love with a Sheep (2012), Poetries from the Bookstores (2014, doc), Thriller (2014, short), Rose Boy (2015, doc), Forty Years (2016, doc), Poetries from the Bookstores (2025, doc)

More info: Wikipedia, Hou Chi-jan