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The Contestant

Directed by Clair Titley

2023

90 minutes

Unclassified 15+

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The incredible true story of a TV contestant left naked in a room, unaware his months-long challenge was being broadcast to millions via a Japanese television show.

In 1998, a budding actor nicknamed ‘Nasubi’ auditioned for a popular TV producer. Successful, he was led into a room, ordered to strip, and tasked with entering magazine sweepstakes to win what he needed to survive – food and clothing included. Nasubi’s expressive face endeared him to viewers, but the hapless contestant was unaware that his every move was being filmed and aired live, and he’d become a mega-celebrity in Japan. With footage from the show and contemporary interviews with Nasubi and his producer, director Clair Titley uncovers the truth behind one the most extraordinary events ever broadcast, a harbinger for today’s reality television.

Limited seats are available for patrons requiring access for wheelchairs, low vision and hearing loop. Please contact our ticketing team directly on 1300 733 733 or tickets@sff.org.au to complete your booking.

If it were told in a narrative film, it would seem about as realistic as Park Chan-wook’s Oldboy, which might be the work of fiction that it most closely resembles

David Ehrlich, IndieWire

Your jaw may drop, your head may shake and you may well end up hating at least one character, but it’s hard to take your eyes off the damn thing – and especially hard to take your eyes off Tomoaki Hamatsu, aka Nasubi, the poor guy at the centre of it

Steve Pond, The Wrap

Special Guests

Clair Titley

Director

Clair Titley is a BAFTA-nominated British director. Her career began at BBC, where she made oral history films and developed a newfound talent for interviewing and unearthing untold stories. Specialising in themes of identity and self-discovery across her documentaries, Titley received a Royal Television Society award for Outstanding New Director.

Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu

Cast / Principal Participant

Tomoaki Hamatsu (aka Nasubi) is a Japanese comedian born and raised in Fukushima Prefecture. Between the years 1998 and 1999, Hamatsu made his debut in the entertainment industry with his infamous appearance on the Nippon TV variety show Susunu! Denpa Shonen. After his fame, Hamatsu had assisted in helping his hometown in the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, by funding reconstruction and regeneration projects.