The Contestant is an upcoming British documentary film produced by directed by Clair Titley. It tells the story of Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi (なすび, "Eggplant"), as he starred in one of the world's first reality TV shows in Japan. ^[1]

Cast

• Tomoaki Hamatsu as himself
• Toshio Tsuchiya as himself, a producer of Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, the show on which Hamatsu's segment aired
• Fred Armisen as the narrator^[1]

Premise

Hamatsu was challenged to stay alone, unclothed, in an apartment for Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, a Japanese reality-television show on Nippon Television. He was challenged to enter mail-in sweepstakes until he won ¥1 million (about $8,000) in total. He started with nothing (including no clothes), was cut off from outside communication and broadcasting, and had nothing to keep him company except the magazines he combed through for sweepstakes entry forms.

During the show, his diaries on his experience of being locked away from the outside world became a best seller in Japan, and the TV show broke all records with 17 million viewers each Sunday night.^[2]

Release

The Contestant had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.^[3] It also screened at the Camden International Film Festival.^[4] In November 2023, Hulu acquired U.S. distribution rights to the documentary.^[5]

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes the film has an approval rating of 90% based on 10 reviews.^[6]

References

External links

• The Contestant at IMDb
• The Contestant at Rotten Tomatoes
• The Contestant at the Toronto International Film Festival