Write a short summary of what happens in the film.

Visiting and interviewing a man who loves books. At the beginning, the man sees a person from a waste paper collection service. He walks up to the person and asks, “Are you taking them for a walk?”, as if he’s talking to a dog owner, and saves the books that were about to be disposed of. As the interview goes on, the man appears petting the books, listening to their “voice”, and explaining that the books will let you read them if you treat them gently. The film ends with the man protecting the books from a goat, and tearfully pleads for healthy books to be sold. This film conveys to sell books that are in good condition, so that the books can find their new home who will treat them as how they should be treated – as “books”.

Cultural / Context information for the jury

In Japan, a country that takes good care of things, the culture of reuse is well developed. Once you have finished reading a book, you can either have it recycled as used paper, or a book in good condition can be sold to book reuse company. Both reuse companies and used paper collectors can be found in every city in Japan.