The tagline of Clair Titley’s The Contestant is “The naked truth about the world’s first reality star.” The show referred to is Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, which aired in Japan from January 1998 to March 2002, and which saw participants––usually young people eager for fame––complete grueling challenges, such as hitch-hiking from South Africa to Norway or traveling from India to Indonesia by peddle boat. The star is Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as “Nasubi”, who appeared on Denpa Shōnen’s now infamous program A Life in Prizes. The question that the show posed was simple: how long could someone survive on competition prizes alone?
To answer it, the show’s producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, had Nasubi blindfolded and taken to a secret location––a dreary one-room apartment somewhere in Tokyo––where he was asked to strip naked and was instructed to use a selection of magazines and a large stack of...
To answer it, the show’s producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, had Nasubi blindfolded and taken to a secret location––a dreary one-room apartment somewhere in Tokyo––where he was asked to strip naked and was instructed to use a selection of magazines and a large stack of...
- 5/1/2024
- by Oliver Weir
- The Film Stage
Hulu documentary “The Contestant” is putting “The Truman Show” to shame.
Centered on the shocking true story of Japanese comedian Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu, the feature is written and directed by Clair Titley. “The Contestant” charts the early days of reality TV in the 1990s, with Nasubi an unknowing participant in a twisted reality show. Nasubi was trapped alone and naked in an apartment for 15 months with cameras surrounding him as he fulfilled tasks like entering magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing. The show was watched by more than 15 million people and titled “Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes.”
Per the official synopsis for “The Contestant,” Nasubi thought he was attending an audition when a successful Japanese TV producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, enlisted him to take part in a challenge. Tsuchiya led Nasubi into a room, ordered him to strip naked, and left him with a stack of magazines. Nasubi’s...
Centered on the shocking true story of Japanese comedian Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu, the feature is written and directed by Clair Titley. “The Contestant” charts the early days of reality TV in the 1990s, with Nasubi an unknowing participant in a twisted reality show. Nasubi was trapped alone and naked in an apartment for 15 months with cameras surrounding him as he fulfilled tasks like entering magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing. The show was watched by more than 15 million people and titled “Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes.”
Per the official synopsis for “The Contestant,” Nasubi thought he was attending an audition when a successful Japanese TV producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, enlisted him to take part in a challenge. Tsuchiya led Nasubi into a room, ordered him to strip naked, and left him with a stack of magazines. Nasubi’s...
- 4/9/2024
- by Samantha Bergeson
- Indiewire
Hulu has revealed the trailer and key art for its original documentary, The Contestant, which will premiere on Thursday, May 2, 2024.
This true story of a Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room for more than a year, tasked with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing, prompts innumerable questions about our culture of oversharing.
Before the onslaught of reality television in the West, there was an ominous harbinger in Japan of what was to come in our oversharing-obsessed culture. The Contestant traces the experience of aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who unwittingly became an extreme case study.
In 1998, Nasubi thought he was attending an audition when a successful Japanese TV producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, enlisted him to take part in a challenge. Tsuchiya led Nasubi into a room, ordered him to strip naked, and left him with a stack of magazines.
Nasubi’s task was to...
This true story of a Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room for more than a year, tasked with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing, prompts innumerable questions about our culture of oversharing.
Before the onslaught of reality television in the West, there was an ominous harbinger in Japan of what was to come in our oversharing-obsessed culture. The Contestant traces the experience of aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who unwittingly became an extreme case study.
In 1998, Nasubi thought he was attending an audition when a successful Japanese TV producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, enlisted him to take part in a challenge. Tsuchiya led Nasubi into a room, ordered him to strip naked, and left him with a stack of magazines.
Nasubi’s task was to...
- 4/9/2024
- by Mirko Parlevliet
- Vital Thrills
The annual 16 Days 16 Films short movie festival is running: more details and this year’s finalists all here.
Finalists are now being revealed for this year’s 16 Days 16 Films festival, an annual competition that’s attracted entrants from around the world.
To qualify, films are directed by a filmmaker who identifies as female, with their films 25 minutes or under. This year’s selection all, in the words of the festival, ‘explore, emote, or educate on a form of violence against women.’
Partners for the festival include Un Women, The Geena Davis Institute and the BFI. Previous finalists have included How To Have Sex director Molly Manning Walker, and Girl director Adura Onashile.
This year’s finalists – and we’ll be adding the films as they become available over the 16 day period – are…
Esperanza (Mexico) – Mayra Veliz
A Very Nice Guy (Mexico) – Minerva R. Bolaños Rodrigo Fierro
After Fred (UK) – Rachel Meyrick...
Finalists are now being revealed for this year’s 16 Days 16 Films festival, an annual competition that’s attracted entrants from around the world.
To qualify, films are directed by a filmmaker who identifies as female, with their films 25 minutes or under. This year’s selection all, in the words of the festival, ‘explore, emote, or educate on a form of violence against women.’
Partners for the festival include Un Women, The Geena Davis Institute and the BFI. Previous finalists have included How To Have Sex director Molly Manning Walker, and Girl director Adura Onashile.
This year’s finalists – and we’ll be adding the films as they become available over the 16 day period – are…
Esperanza (Mexico) – Mayra Veliz
A Very Nice Guy (Mexico) – Minerva R. Bolaños Rodrigo Fierro
After Fred (UK) – Rachel Meyrick...
- 12/8/2023
- by Simon Brew
- Film Stories
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