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.
2024
The Contestant
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
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 Inman, Andee 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
Asia, Biographical & Documentary
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