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The Contestant
2024

The Contestant

The unbelievable true story of a Japanese game show contestant left naked, alone and starving in a room for 15 months - unaware he was being broadcast to over 15 million TV viewers a week.

Director

Clair Titley

Runtime

90 Minutes

Country

United States, Japan

Classification

Unclassified 15+

The naked truth about the world’s first reality TV star.

The unbelievable true story of a Japanese game show contestant left naked, alone and starving in a room for 15 months - unaware he was being broadcast to over 15 million TV viewers a week.

After a successful TV audition in 1998, a young actor nicknamed ‘Nasubi’ (‘Eggplant’) was put in a room, ordered to strip, and tasked with entering magazine sweepstakes to win what he needed to survive – food and clothing included. Hours turned into days turned into months alone. All the while, Nasubi was being filmed and aired live on national Japanese TV.

Director Clair Titley uncovers the truth behind the world’s first reality TV star, and asks uncomfortable questions about today’s culture of voyeurism, consumerism and oversharing - on air and online.

“All of a sudden, the film goes from mildly interesting to downright gut-churning, an emotional territory it seldom leaves from there on out.”

Variety

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Toronto, Sydney

Film Credits

Director

Clair Titley

Year

2023

Country

United States & Japan

Language

English & Japanese

Subtitles

English

Type

Documentary & Feature

Program Strand

World Documentary

Producer

Megumi InmanAndee Ryder & Ian Bonhôte

Writer

Clair Titley

Cinematographer

Mikul Villaluna Eriksson

Editor

Rachel Meyrick & Katie Bryer

Cast

Tomoaki ‘Nasubi’ Hamatsu & Toshio Tsuchiya

Film Source

Misfits Entertainment

Genre

AsiaBiographical & Documentary

Purchase Tickets

Friday 25 Oct 2024

09:15 pm

The Contestant

The Piccadilly:

The Piccadilly: Cinema 1

Friday 1 Nov 2024

06:15 pm

The Contestant

Capri Theatre

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