‘The Contestant’ Director Clair Titley on the Fallout From Reality TV: ‘We Are All Complicit’

variety.com:

Addie Morfoot Contributor Long before Bethenny Frankel began fighting for reality stars’ rights, there was “Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes,” a Japanese reality show that began airing in 1998.The show starred aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi.

In a room by himself and naked, Nasubi had to fill out contest coupons in order to win what he needed to survive. What Nasubi didn’t realize was that his experiences were being broadcast to more than 15 million people.The true story of the show and Nasubi’s unwitting involvement are explored in Clair Titley’s “The Contestant.” The docu, which made its world premiere at the Toronto Intl.

Film Festival earlier this month, recently screened at the 19th edition of the Camden Intl. Film Festival.“Camden feels like such filmmaker’s film festival,” Titley says. “It’s wonderful when people love your film, but when your peers love your film and people in the industry that you respect say that they love your film, that’s the ultimate accolade.”The U.K.-based documentary filmmaker began working on “The Contestant” seven years ago.

In the film, Titley interviews Nasubi, his family, and Japanese television producer Toshio Tsuchiya to reveal the “reality” behind what happened more than two decades ago.Variety spoke to Titley about “The Contestant.” The film is seeking distribution.In the film, Nasubi is very candid about what happened to him.