The Contestant at the Electric Palace

This British documentary tells the story of Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi ("Eggplant"), an unwitting Japanese reality TV star who accepts a challenge from a TV producer. He was to be locked in a room for more than a year, filling out magazine contest coupons in order to win what he needed to survive - food, clothing, appliances - until he reached the prize goal of one million yen. Although free to leave at any time, Nasubi is fiercely determined to complete the challenge and is cut off from the outside world, apart from occasional interactions with the show's producer. Without his knowledge or consent, Nasubi was being filmed and broadcast to a TV audience in excess of 15 million making him the most famous TV personality in Japan.

Titley's film captures the cruelty of reality TV and follows the star Tomoaki Hamatsu as he returns to the world to rebuild his life. All this, before The Truman Show, before Big Brother, before reality TV was a genre, as he starred in a 1998 Japanese reality TV show.

You may also like the following events from ElectricPalace Hastings:

• This Thursday, 20th November, 11:00 am, La Traviata at the Electric Palace in Hastings
• This Sunday, 23rd November, 11:00 am, No More to Say and Nothing to Weep For: An Elegy for Allen Ginsberg 1926-1997 at the Electric Palace in Hastings
• This Sunday, 23rd November, 03:00 pm, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest - 4K Restoration at the Electric Palace in Hastings

Also check out other Contests in Hastings, Entertainment events in Hastings.