184: Clair Titley on "The Contestant"

Pure Nonfiction: Inside Documentary Film

"The Contestant" takes us back to the early days of reality TV in Japan. An aspiring comedian named nicknamed Nasubi ("eggplant") auditions for the hit show Denpa Shonen, known for real people performing crazy stunts. The show’s producer Toshio Tsuchiya brings Nasubi to a room and tells him to get undressed. The room contains a rack of magazines and little else. Toshio informs Nasubi that he needs to fill out magazine sweepstakes coupons to win his food and clothing. He can’t leave the room until he’s reached one million yen of prizes. It sounds crazy, but Nasubi lived by the terms of this concept for over a year, not realizing that his life was being turned into a weekly TV program with millions of viewers.
Pure Nonfiction host Thom Powers interviews first time filmmaker Clair Titley about how she pulled off the film with the help of her producer Megumi Inman and the production company Misfits. "The Contestant" is now streaming on Hulu.

On Instagram: @purenonfiction @thompowers1