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The Roundhouse in London played host this evening to the 2024 BIFAs – The British Independent Film Awards. Kneecap went into the awards ceremony leading the 2024 nominations with 14, Love Lies Bleeding had 12, The Outrun received 9 nominations, 7 nominations each for Bird, on becoming a guinea fowl and unicorns, 6 for Hoard and Civil War. The winners of tonight’s awards are below.

Celebrating remarkable films and outstanding talent from the British film industry and beyond, this year’s list highlights the UK’s brightest new talent alongside BIFA heroes such as Andrea Arnold, Rose Glass, Rungano Nyoni, Saoirse Ronan, Jack O’Connell, Barry Keoghan and Hayley Squires.

Colin Hart and Ethan Hart were on the red carpet, here are their interviews.

The 2024 BIFA Winners Best British Independent Film

“Kneecap” — Rich Peppiatt, Trevor Birney, Jack Tarling — Winner

“Love Lies Bleeding” — Rose Glass, Weronika Tofilska, Andrea Cornwell, Oliver Kassman

“On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” — Rungano Nyoni, Tim Cole,...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners are being unveiled from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse.

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Screen isupdating this page live from the ceremony as the winners are announced - refresh this page for the latest winners. Scroll down for the full nominations and craft winners.

Sophie Okonedo is receiving theRichard Harris award. The actor is best known for her Oscar-nominated performance in 2004’sHotel Rwanda while her other film credits includeThe Secret Lie Of Bees,Christopher Robin,Wild Rose,Death On The Nile andCatherine Called Birdy.

Bifa winners 2024

Winners in bold, latest award top

Best...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas)winners will be unveiled today (December 8)from a ceremony at London’s Roundhouse, commencing at 20:00 GMT.

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Screen will be updating this page live from the ceremony as the winners are announced - refresh this page for the latest winners. Scroll down for the full nominations and craft winners.

Rich Peppiatt’s Irish-language comedyKneecap leads the nominations with six, including director, screenplay and best British independent film for Peppiatt - the latter alongside producers Trevor Birney and Jack Tarling - and joint lead performance for its stars Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh,...

Moana 2 takes to the seas at the UK and Ireland box office this weekend as the Disney sequel launches in 630 cinemas.

The sequel opens wider than the 533 venues of its predecessor back in 2016. That title debuted with a mild £2.2m but had a solid run overall, surpassing £20m.

Moana 2sees the eponymous islander, voiced by Auli‘i Cravalho, embark on a journey to find a mythical, lost island. Dwayne Johnson also returns to the voice cast while new additions include comedian Rose Matafeo and Hualalai Chung.

It will have fierce competition from Wicked, fresh from having the UK’s biggest...

Nasubi in The Contestant

Just over a year ago, at the Toronto International Film Festival, a documentary emerged which, even though much of the footage it contained had already been seen by millions, left audiences stunned. Going on to screen at Doc NYC, the Glasgow Film Festival and Doc/Fest, Clair Titley’s The Contestant told the story of Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as Nasubi. He was the star of Denpa Shōnen, or A Life In Prizes, a game show which saw him stripped naked, shut in a room and given nothing to eat or wear or occupy himself with beyond what he could win by entering competitions in magazines. Although he could theoretically leave at any time, the psychological pressure on him to remain was intense, and as his physical and mental health deteriorated, everything he did was broadcast live.

Since the end of his ordeal, which went on for.

Universal’s screen adaptation of “Wicked” dominated the U.K. and Ireland box office with a commanding £13.7 million ($17.2 million) debut, according to numbers from Comscore.

The musical fantasy leads a robust frame that saw Paramount’s “Gladiator II” maintain strong momentum in its sophomore session with £4.7 million, pushing its cumulative total to £18.4 million.

Studiocanal’s “Paddington in Peru” continues to demonstrate impressive holds in its third weekend, collecting £4.2 million for a running total of £24.5 million. Warner Bros.’ “Red One” secured fourth position with £866,764, bringing its three-week total to £5.9 million.

Entertainment Film Distributors’ “Heretic” rounded out the top five with £205,457, accumulating £5.4 million over four weeks. Universal’s “The Wild Robot” placed sixth with £183,578 (£13.5 million total), while Lionsgate U.K.’s “Small Things Like These” ranked seventh with £166,803 (£3.5 million total).

Trafalgar Releasing’s Metropolitan Opera presentation of “Tosca” debuted in eighth place with £129,206, followed by Polish holiday entry “Listy Do M. 6” from Magnetes Pictures,...

Hoard writer-director Luna Carmoon, Didi filmmaker Sean Wang and Baby Reindeer star Nava Mau are among 43 Bafta Breakthrough members for its 2024 cohort.

The 43 names consist of 21 UK creatives, 13 from the US and nine from India. The selected members hail from film, games and television, and will receive one-to-one meetings, career guidance, full Bafta voting membership and access to screenings and networking events in the year-long initiative.

Scroll down for the full list of Bafta Breakthrough 2024

Carmoon is one of several filmmakers in the selection, alongside If The Streets Were On Fire director Alice Russell, The Contestant director Clair Titley, and...

‘Love Lies Bleeding’ es la segunda película más nominada. © Elástica Films | Filmin | DeAPlaneta

Ya se conocen los nominados a los Premios BIFA (British Independent Film Awards). Estos premios son unos galardones cinematográficos que se otorgan en el Reino Unido para destacar y honrar las películas independientes británicas. Los ganadores de los premios BIFA 2024 se darán a conocer el 8 de diciembre. Aquí os dejamos con la lista de los nominados de esta edición:

Mejor PELÍCULA Independiente BRITÁNICA

Kneecap

Love Lies Bleeding

On Becoming Guinea Fowl

The Outrun

Santosh

Mejor PELÍCULA Independiente Internacional

All We Imagine as Light

Anora

La Chimera

No Other Land

The Seed of the Sacred Fig

Mejor DIRECCIÓN

Andrea Arnold, Bird

Nora Fingscheidt, The Outrun

Rose Glass, Love Lies Bleeding

Rungano Nyoni, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl

Rich Peppiatt, Kneecap

Mejor Guion

Nora Fingscheidt & Amy Liptrot, The Outrun

Rose Glass & Weronika Tofilska, Love Lies Bleeding

Rungano Nyoni, On Becoming A Guinea Fowl...

Whilst the eyes of the world may be locked firmly on the other side of the Atlantic this morning, back here in Blighty there is at least some positivity still to be shared yet. Having shone last year when the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes brought Hollywood to a standstill, the independent British cinema scene has continued to shine throughout 2024, with revered greats, rising stars, returning masters, and bold new narratives all emerging to ensure the flame for indies from these shores has never burned brighter. As such, it comes as no great surprise that the announcement of this year's British Independent Film Awards nominees is a veritable treasure trove of great art and great artists that stand to represent the very best British filmmaking has to offer.

Leading the pack with an impressive 14 nominations — including nods for Best British Independent Film, Director, Screenplay, and Debut Director — is British-Irish filmmaker Rich Peppiatt...

The British Independent Film Awards this year honor two Sundance breakout films, with both “Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” atop the 2024 nominations list.

Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” (repping Ireland for the 2024 Best International Feature Oscar) leads this year’s nominees with 14 nods, including Best Director, Best Screenplay, and Best British Independent Film. “Kneecap” is based on the eponymous rap group, which star here alongside Michael Fassbender in a fictionalized band origin story.

Following “Kneecap” with 12 nominations is Rose Glass’s “Love Lies Bleeding.” Co-leads Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian are nominated for Best Joint Lead Performance, and the film has also been recognized in the Best British Independent Film, Best Director, and Best Screenplay categories.

Additional features that received multiple nominations include “The Outrun,” “Bird,” and “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl.”

In 2023, “All of Us Strangers” swept the top categories with awards, in addition to “Rye Lane” and future...

“Kneecap” and “Love Lies Bleeding” lead the nominees for this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

“How to Have Sex” breakout Mia McKenna-Bruce and “Rye Lane” star Vivian Oparah announced the nominations in London on Tuesday morning. “Kneecap” received the most nods with 14, including best screenplay, director for Rich Peppiatt and joint lead performance for Kneecap members Liam Óg Ó Hannaidh, Naoise Ó Cairealláin and JJ Ó Dochartaigh.

Rose Glass’ “Love Lies Bleeding” follows with 12, including best British independent film, director, screenplay and joint lead performance for Kristen Stewart and Katy O’Brian. “The Outrun,” starring Saoirse Ronan, received nine nods for best British independent film, director for Nora Fingsheidt, screenplay for Fingsheidt and Amy Liptrot and lead performance for Ronan.

Andrea Arnold’s “Bird,” Rungano Nyoni’s “On Becoming a Guinea Fowl” and James Krishna Floyd’s “Unicorns” each garnered seven nominations.

The winners will be revealed, in addition to...

Misfits Entertainment has hired Film4 head of development Ben Coren in the new role of head of scripted.

Coren will oversee an expansion into the scripted space for UK production company Misfits, which has made its name with documentaries including The Contestant, Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story and Bafta-nominated McQueen.

“After so long on the financier side, it’s a privilege to move back into the world of indies at such a vibrant and dynamic company, with a commitment to telling stories from outsider perspectives,” said Coren.

He leaves Film4 after 11 years, during which he held several roles including head...

“Andy Murray: Resurfacing” director Olivia Cappuccini is set to helm a new documentary about model and transgender activist Munroe Bergdorf.

Titled “Love & Rage: Munroe Bergdorf,” the doc is produced by Andee Ryder (“The Contestant”) and Sofia Ismail Martin (“McQueen”). Ian Bonhôte (“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story”) executive produces alongside Helen Parker of Universal Pictures Content Group, a division of Universal Filmed Entertainment Group.

The doc, which recently wrapped, focuses on “one of the most talked about and important issues of our time – how to find yourself and your truth,” according to the synopsis. It follows Bergdorf’s journey and provides hope for those facing similar challenges.

Bergdorf is a model, writer, broadcaster and transgender activist who became the first trans cover star for Cosmopolitan magazine in the U.K.

The documentary is set to premiere next spring.

“I’m so excited to announce that we’ve wrapped filming on my...

The British Independent Film Awards (Bifas) has unveiled the documentary and international film longlists for its 2024 ceremony, with films including in-videogame title Grand Theft Hamlet and Sean Baker’s Palme d’Or winner Anora.

Grand Theft Hamlet is on the 12-strong best feature documentary list. The film is the debut feature from directorial duo Pinny Grylls and Sam Crane; it premiered at SXSW this year and was recently acquired for a UK-Ireland theatrical release. It follows two struggling actors who find solace from lockdown isolation by staging William Shakespeare’s Hamlet in the online Grand Theft Auto game.

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Subversive Irish breakout pic Kneecap and Sasha Nathwani’s gentle yet ambitious debut Last Swim are among the titles that have nabbed mentions on the new talent longlists at this year’s British Independent Film Awards.

Both Kneecap and Last Swim pop up on the Douglas Hickox Best Debut Director Award longlist. Other nominees include Hoard, directed by Luna Carmoon, and Karan Kandhari’s Sister Midnight, which debuted at this year’s Cannes Film Festival.

All four films also feature on the best screenplay longlist alongside Christopher Andrews’s Bring Them Down starring Barry Keoghan and Christopher Abbott. Other pics on the screenplay longlist include The Ceremony by Jack King and Jed Hart’s Restless.

Overall, the longlists include 31 British features, with 20 fiction and 11 documentary features across four debut filmmaking categories. Within that, there are 13 first-time fiction feature directors, 16 first-time feature documentary directors, 11 first-time writers, and 19 breakthrough producers.

The final...

Rich Peppiatt’s “Kneecap” and Luna Carmoon’s “Hoard” are among the titles in the British Independent Film Awards’ (BIFA) 2024 filmmaker new talent longlists, unveiled Friday. The selections spotlight 31 British features across four debut filmmaking categories, encompassing both fiction and documentary works.

Peppiatt and Carmoon join a group of first-time directors vying for the Douglas Hickox Award, including Amrou Al-Kadhi for “Layla,” Christopher Andrews for “Bring Them Down,” and Daina O Pusić for “Tuesday.” Other contenders in this category are Lucy Cohen with “Edge of Summer,” James Krishna Floyd for “Unicorns,” Stuart Gatt’s “Catching Dust,” Karan Kandhari’s “Sister Midnight,” Jack King’s “The Ceremony,” Rob Morgan’s “Stopmotion,” Sasha Nathwani’s “Last Swim,” and Joshua Trigg’s “Satu – Year of the Rabbit.” The category is sponsored by BBC Film.

The best debut screenwriter category, sponsored by Film4, sees Andrews and Carmoon competing alongside Floyd, Jed Hart for “Restless,...

Filmmakers from Bring Them Down, The Ceremony and Tuesday feature prominently on the filmmaker new talent longlists for the 2024 British Independent Film Awards (Bifas).

Bring Them Down’s Christopher Andrews is longlisted for the Douglas Hickox Award for best debut director and the best debut screenwriter award, while the film’s debut producer Jacob Swan Hyam is longlisted for breakthrough producer.

Scroll down for the filmmaker New Talent longlists

The Ceremony repeats that trio for writer-director Jack King and producers Hollie Bryan and Lucy Meer; as does Tuesday for writer-director Daina O Pusic and producer Helen Gladders.

Four filmmaker new...

Exclusive: The details of Disney’s Entertainment Television’s latest round of layoffs are starting to emerge.

Deadline understands that the company is combining the unscripted teams at ABC Entertainment and Hulu. The move was made by Rob Mills, EVP Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment at Walt Disney Television.

As a result, two of the unscripted team’s senior vice presidents are exiting as part of the layoffs.

We hear that Tiffany Faigus, who is SVP Unscripted and Alternative Entertainment, ABC Entertainment and Walt Disney Television Alternative, and Belisa Balaban, SVP Original Documentaries and Unscripted Series, Hulu Originals, are out.

Faigus has been with ABC since 2015. She was promoted in 2021, having previously been VP Alternative Series and Specials, taking on a new role that encompassed both the network and the unscripted studio side of the business at Walt Disney Television Alternative. Faigus has worked on shows such as Who Wants to Be a Millionaire,...

The 71st edition of Australia’s Sydney Film Festival (Sff) closed on Sunday June 16 amid a wave of optimisim with a wealth of prizes, a likely rise in ticket sales, and an influx of young cinemagoers.

Ticket sales were estimated to be more than 10% up on last year, making 2024 the second biggest year on record after 2019.

“It’s been quite phenomenal and we feel very optimistic about the future,” said festival director Nashen Moodley. “We can’t tell with precision, but judging by which films sold, the younger demographic is increasing.”

Paola Cortellesi’s post-Second World War Italian melodrama There’s Still Tomorrow,...

On Saturday, June 1, CBS Mornings welcomes singer-songwriter Rett Madison, chef Zach Engel, and Tomoaki Hamatsu, the subject of the Hulu documentary “The Contestant.” Rett Madison, a singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist based in Los Angeles, will perform and discuss her new album, “One for Jackie.” Madison has been featured in publications like Billboard, American Songwriter, and […]

CBS Mornings: Rett Madison, Zach Engel, Tomoaki Hamatsu...

May is here, and with it the beginning of summer and — most crucially — more time to watch movies. But while the multiplex is sure to deliver some great thrills, spills and chills this month, if you’re looking to stay in for a night we’ve got a bevy of streaming recommendations to throw your way. Indeed, a number of exciting new movies are streaming in May, from an Anne Hathaway-led romcom to a truly bonkers Jerry Seinfeld movie to a much-maligned Marvel film that may be good for some unintentional laughs.

Below we’ve put together a curated list of the best new movies streaming in May on Netflix, Prime Video, Max, Disney+, Hulu and more. So heat up some popcorn, grab your favorite blanket and settle in.

“Turtles All the Way Down” Isabela Merced in “Turtles All the Way Down” (Max)

Max – May 2

Based on the bestselling...

May has only just arrived, and it’s already heating up at Hulu! Dozens of new titles have moved in for the new month, with some of streamer’s biggest hits landing on the platform during its first weekend, including Season 3 of Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney’s “Welcome to Wrexham” and Season 5 of “The Kardashians,” but Hulu will be adding major titles all month long, from the premiere of the coming-of-age comedy film “Prom Dates” to the streaming debut of last year’s psychological thriller “Eileen.”

Ready to watch? Check out The Streamable’s top picks for this month at Hulu and find out everything coming to the streamer in May!

30-Day Free Trial $7.99+ / month hulu.com What are the 5 Best Shows and Movies Coming to Hulu in May 2024? “The Contestant” Premiere | Thursday, May 2

The new documentary turns the lens on “our culture of oversharing” and tells the true...

Each week we highlight the noteworthy titles that have recently hit streaming platforms in the United States. Check out this week’s selections below and past round-ups here.

Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg (Alexis Bloom and Svetlana Zill)

You can’t always get what you want, unless you are a Rolling Stones fan hungering for documentary deep-dives into the band’s storied history. Indeed, it is spectacularly serendipitous that Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg arrives just a few months after The Stones and Brian Jones. The latter doc, from Nick Broomfield, centered on Jones, the band’s founder and leader until Mick Jagger and Keith Richards snatched that mantle. Catching Fire and The Stones and Brian Jones cover much of the same ground, use some of the same archival footage, and even feature the same anecdotes from delightful Tin Drum director Volker Schlöndorff. The films are...

His name is Nasubi. He sits alone and naked in a small apartment for months on end, trying to win food and clothing as mail-in sweepstakes prizes. He doesn’t quite know it, but his strange predicament is being broadcast to 17 million people. It sounds like a work of fiction about a torturous psychopath — something out of a “Saw” film — but in 1998, it was the premise of a Japanese reality TV show, and is now now the subject of documentary Clair Titley’s wildly intriguing (if often imbalanced) “The Contestant.”

The British documentary, now available on Hulu, chronicles the inception of this cruel and unusual game through the eyes of not only its subject — wannabe comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, a.k.a. Nasubi — as well as TV super-producer Toshio Tsuchiya, who created the bizarre challenge for comedy/prank reality series “Susunu! Denpa Shōnen.” Starting with six-minute segments of Nasubi’s life,...

The effects of reality TV and social media on the human psyche are still being explored. In an era where anyone can put themselves on camera at a moment’s notice, our most frustrating moments can be captured in the blink of an eye. Hulu’s new documentary, The Contestant, follows the story of Nasubi. American audiences may not know Nasubi, the comedian turned reality star lived in a small windowless room without or consistent food for over a year.

For his time on the show Denpa Shonen, Nasubi was stripped of his clothes and lived exclusively in this room. His only sustenance came from winning awards from magazine competitions. His goal was to win prizes and gifts with a total value of over 1 million Yen (or under $9000). Unbeknownst to him, Nasubi’s days were recapped on Denpa Shonen, and his room was live-streamed for over a year.

Fandomwire spoke with Nasubi,...

Hulu‘s latest documentary is a downright doozy that is both hilarious and horrifying at the exact same time. The Contestant, which is available to stream as of Thursday, centers on the very wild story of Tomoaki Hamatsu aka Nasubi, a Japanese man who was recruited by a respected producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, to star in a nebulous show and subsequently ended up living more than a year of his life in solitude, surviving on sweepstakes prizes, and showing off his slide into insanity to millions of rapt viewers. Called Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes, the show launched in 1998 as Nasubi was dropped off in a small barren apartment with a camera, stripped of everything he owned (including every stitch of his clothes), and left to apply for sweepstakes and learn to survive on the winnings. As The Contestant details, Nasubi was challenged to collect ¥1 million worth of prizes during his adventure,...

A man walks into a room. He’s just picked a winning ticket in a lottery, been blindfolded, and led through the snow. Now, inside a windowless and mostly bare apartment, he’s being asked to disrobe. I have to take off everything, the man asks? Everything. The fact that a TV producer is telling him this is cause for concern. Besides, isn’t this supposed to be some sort of televised contest? Why is he being left au naturel? Don’t worry, the producer says. Most of this won’t be aired.

The tagline of Clair Titley’s The Contestant is “The naked truth about the world’s first reality star.” The show referred to is Susunu! Denpa Shōnen, which aired in Japan from January 1998 to March 2002, and which saw participants––usually young people eager for fame––complete grueling challenges, such as hitch-hiking from South Africa to Norway or traveling from India to Indonesia by peddle boat. The star is Tomoaki Hamatsu, better known as “Nasubi”, who appeared on Denpa Shōnen’s now infamous program A Life in Prizes. The question that the show posed was simple: how long could someone survive on competition prizes alone?

To answer it, the show’s producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, had Nasubi blindfolded and taken to a secret location––a dreary one-room apartment somewhere in Tokyo––where he was asked to strip naked and was instructed to use a selection of magazines and a large stack of...

When Tomoaki Hamatsu aka Nasubi first auditioned for a game show run by famed Japanese producer Toshio Tsuchiya, he wanted to be a comedian. What he didn’t know is that people would be laughing at him for all the wrong reasons — and he wouldn’t even know it. Now, Hulu’s riveting documentary The Contestant aims to show the horror behind all of the humor. In 1998, Nasubi’s name was randomly chosen during the audition, and he was whisked away to a small, empty apartment and instructed to take all of his clothes off. He would then spend the next year and three months in that condition, surviving only off of the prizes he received from mail-order contests until he won ¥1 million worth of prizes. Though he knew there was a camera in the room, he didn’t know it was feeding a daily broadcast of Denpa Shonen: A...

Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu in The Contestant Image: Disney During its run from 1998 to 2002, Susunu! Denpa Shōnen (translated: Do Not Proceed! Crazy Youth) became the biggest thing on Japanese television. The travel-focused variety show, cited by many as the foundation for reality TV as we know it, saw contestants tossed into survival scenarios,...

Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu in The ContestantImage: Disney

During its run from 1998 to 2002, Susunu! Denpa Shōnen (translated: Do Not Proceed! Crazy Youth) became the biggest thing on Japanese television. The travel-focused variety show, cited by many as the foundation for reality TV as we know it, saw contestants tossed into survival scenarios,...

What’s the best destination for spring TV? IndieWire doesn’t have a definitive answer, but as we do every month we’ll help you weigh the options with a breakdown of everything coming to your favorite streaming platforms in May.

The month is a prime time to have Disney+, what with the ongoing and buzzy success of “X-Men 97” and upcoming “Marvel Studios’ Assembled” going behind the scenes of the reboot series. May is of course the month of Star Wars, and the House of Mouse will celebrate with “Star Wars: Tales of the Empire” on May 4. Disney is also home to BBC America’s “Doctor Who,” which returns for a highly-anticipated 14th season with Ncuti Gatwa stepping into the Tardis as the new Doctor (he stepped into the role in December 2023 as part of the series’ beloved Christmas special tradition).

Meanwhile, Hulu will continue airing episodes of FX’s...

The premiere schedule for Hulu in May 2024 has been announced and can be viewed below. The streaming service has also revealed the titles that will be leaving next month.

The Hulu originals for the month include The Contestant, The Kardashians Season 5, The Killing Kind, Lainey Wilson: Bell Bottom Country, Past Lies, Prom Dates, Shardlake, and Uncle Samsik. Films like Elvis, Ferrari, The Promised Land, and Where the Crawdads Sing will also be available.

Hulu gives viewers instant access to current shows from every major U.S. broadcast network, libraries of hit TV series and films, and acclaimed Hulu Originals. Check out the highlights below and read on for the full slate of titles coming to Hulu in May 2024.

Highlights

A look at the originals, exclusives, and premieres that are part of the Hulu May 2024 lineup.

Elvis (2022 – Streaming May 1)

The life of American music icon Elvis Presley, from his childhood to...

Rap and hip-hop music have a long legacy of challenging oppressive powers. In upcoming Hulu documentary “Hip-Hop and The White House,” injustices against music creators of color are re-examined within the historical lens of political movements.

The film is written and directed by Sundance alum Jesse Washington, who has documented hip-hop since the 1980s and has been a senior writer at Andscape since it launched in 2014 as The Undefeated. His film credits include “Bearing Witness: A Portrait Of Darnella Frazier” for ESPN+ and “March On Washington: Keepers Of The Dream” for Nat Geo.

Atlanta rapper Jay “Jeezy” Jenkins narrates and executive produces the documentary alongside Washington. Jeezy’s song “My President” came out ahead of President Barack Obama’s historical 2008 election. Additional onscreen interview subjects include Common, Yg, U.S. Representative Maxine Waters, Krs-One, Roxanne Shante, Bun B, Bakari Kitwana, Farai Chideya, Newark Mayor Ras J. Baraka, Curren$y, Dave “Davey D” Cook,...

"For months, my life has just been a struggle between sanity and madness." Hulu has revealed an official trailer for a documentary film titled The Contestant, a fascinating, unbelievable true story about a game show contestant in Japan in the 1990s known as "Nasubi". It's a bizarre cross between The Truman Show and Oldboy (and predates both of these films), but it actually really happened. This true story of a Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room for more than a year, tasked with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food & clothing, prompts innumerable questions about our culture of oversharing. Before the reality TV craze, there was this ominous harbinger in Japan of what was to come in oversharing-obsessed culture. The Contestant traces the experience of aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who unwittingly became an extreme case study. The doc film brings a revelatory depth of insight by interviewing Nasubi and others,...

Hulu documentary “The Contestant” is putting “The Truman Show” to shame.

Centered on the shocking true story of Japanese comedian Tomoaki “Nasubi” Hamatsu, the feature is written and directed by Clair Titley. “The Contestant” charts the early days of reality TV in the 1990s, with Nasubi an unknowing participant in a twisted reality show. Nasubi was trapped alone and naked in an apartment for 15 months with cameras surrounding him as he fulfilled tasks like entering magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing. The show was watched by more than 15 million people and titled “Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes.”

Per the official synopsis for “The Contestant,” Nasubi thought he was attending an audition when a successful Japanese TV producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, enlisted him to take part in a challenge. Tsuchiya led Nasubi into a room, ordered him to strip naked, and left him with a stack of magazines. Nasubi’s...

Hulu has revealed the trailer and key art for its original documentary, The Contestant, which will premiere on Thursday, May 2, 2024.

This true story of a Japanese reality TV star left naked in a room for more than a year, tasked with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food and clothing, prompts innumerable questions about our culture of oversharing.

Before the onslaught of reality television in the West, there was an ominous harbinger in Japan of what was to come in our oversharing-obsessed culture. The Contestant traces the experience of aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who unwittingly became an extreme case study.

In 1998, Nasubi thought he was attending an audition when a successful Japanese TV producer, Toshio Tsuchiya, enlisted him to take part in a challenge. Tsuchiya led Nasubi into a room, ordered him to strip naked, and left him with a stack of magazines.

Nasubi’s task was to...

Two new Australian films, both enjoying their world premiere, are among the first titles confirmed to play at the Sydney Film Festival in June.

“In Vitro,” a sci-fi mystery thriller set on a remote cattle farm in the near future, hails from directors Will Howarth and Tom McKeith (“Beast”) and stars Ashley Zukerman (“Succession”).

With “The Pool,” director Ian Darling (“The Final Quarter”) paints a cinematic portrait of a year in the life of the iconic Bondi Icebergs, the pool and the people who cherish it.

They will be joined by New Zealand actor Rachel House (“Hunt for the Wilderpeople”), who makes her feature directorial debut with “The Mountain,” which centers on three children discovering friendship’s healing power through the spirit of adventure as they trek through spectacular New Zealand landscapes. It is executive produced by Taika Waititi and will be eligible for Sydney’s recently announced First Nations Award,...

The retelling of Bon Jovi’s legacy is wanted dead or alive.

The iconic New Jersey-based band is at the center of four-part Hulu docuseries “Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story.” Billed as an “all access” account of the band’s rise to fame, the docuseries spans 40 years of rock ‘n roll history culminating in frontman Jon Bon Jovi’s vocal injury that throws the band’s touring future into question.

“Thank You, Goodnight: The Bon Jovi Story” joins the band in February 2022 and follows their real time journey with its fits and starts as they attempt to chart out what’s next. The series uses personal videos, unreleased early demos, original lyrics, and never-before-seen photos to capture Bon Jovi’s journey from Jersey Shore Clubs to the biggest stages on the planet. The docuseries is directed and executive produced by Emmy winner Gotham Chopra.

“Thank You, Goodnight” features interviews with Jon Bon Jovi,...

Hulu’s released the lineup of its upcoming spring 2024 premieres, including season two of Extraordinary, season five of The Kardashians, and the first season of Vanderpump Villa. This spring’s schedule also features an in-depth behind-the-scenes look at Bon Jovi and We Were the Lucky Ones, a limited series based on the New York Times bestseller.

The limited series Under the Bridge, based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book and starring Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone, will premiere on April 17, 2024. The streaming service’s spring announcement also includes release dates for Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told and The Contestant.

Extraordinary Season 2 – Premiere Date: March 6, 2024, All 8 Episodes

Season two picks up where season one spectacularly left off, following Jen (Máiréad Tyers) on her powers journey as she enrolls as a client at the power Clinic, but quickly discovers that the process isn’t as easy as she’d hoped. Things with ex-cat,...

Hulu has announced the premiere dates for limited series Under the Bridge and the two docs The Contestant and the film Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told.

Under the Bridge is a limited series with eight episodes that’s based on Rebecca Godfrey’s book about the 1997 true story of fourteen-year old Reena Virk who went to join friends at a party and never returned home. The Hulu limited series that stars Lily Gladstone, Archie Panjabi and Riley Keough premieres April 17.

The series was adapted for screen by Quinn Shephard and is executive produced by Samir Mehta, Liz Tigelaar and Stacey Silverman (Best Day Ever), Shephard, Godfrey and Tara Duncan. Keough will executive produce with Gina Gammell (Felix Culpa). Geeta Patel will direct the pilot and EP the episode. The series is produced by ABC Signature.

Freaknik: The Wildest Party Never Told bows March 21 on Hulu in the U.S.

Hulu has officially announced its Spring 2024 slate of shows and movies landing on the streaming platform.

New installments of “Extraordinary” (Season 2) and “The Kardashians” (Season 5) will debut soon, and a fresh crop of highly anticipated titles are also set to premiere.

“The Act” star Joey King returns to Hulu with “We Were the Lucky Ones” based on the true story of a Jewish family separated at the start of WWII. Logan Lerman co-stars in the film based on Georgia Hunter’s New York Times bestselling book. A trailer was released ahead of the limited series’ March 28 premiere; “The Morning Show” writer Erica Lipez serves as showrunner, with “Fosse/Verdon” helmer Thomas Kail directing.

Oscar nominee Lily Gladstone continues her TV reign following “Reservation Dogs” with “Under the Bridge,” another adaptation of a true story. Based on author Rebecca Godfrey’s book, “Under the Bridge” captures the 1997 true story of 14-year-old Reena...

European production powerhouse Mediawan has bought a majority stake in Misfits, the prestige U.K. company whose anticipated documentary “Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” will play at the Sundance Film Festival.

The London-based production company, founded in 2016, is run by Andee (Dee) Ryder and Ian Bonhôte, the BAFTA-nominated filmmaker-producer duo behind “McQueen,” the critically laureled documentary about the fashion designer Lee Alexander McQueen. The company’s thriving track record in the non-fiction space also includes “Rising Phoenix,” a documentary about the Paralympic movement which won a pair of Emmy Awards, and “Kingdom of Dreams,” a four-part premium non-fiction series about the fashion industry which sold across 169 territories, as well as “The Contestant” which premiered at last year’s Toronto and sold to Hulu for a 2024 release.

Aside from being a key player within the feature documentary landscape, the banner recently expanded into fiction with “Alleycats,” a high-concept thriller directed by...

Clair Titley’s true story follows bizarre story of aspiring Japanese comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu.

Hulu has acquired MRC and Misfits Entertainment’s TIFF world premiere and Doc NYC opening night selection The Contestant and will debut the acclaimed documentary on its platform in 2024.

Clair Titley’s film follows aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who found fame in 1998 when he starred in extreme reality competition series Denpa Shonen: A Life In Prizes.

The show’s premise left Nasubi naked in a room for more than a year and tasked him with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food. He had...

Hulu has acquired the rights to The Contestant, the documentary feature from MRC and Misfits Entertainment that had its world premiere at the 2023 Toronto International Film Festival.

The Contestant is the true story of aspiring comedian Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, whose fame kicked off in 1998 when he starred in reality competition series “Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes.” The show’s premise left Nasubi naked in a room for more than a year and tasked him with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food, but he had no idea he was becoming the most famous TV star in Japan as the series broadcast to more than 15 million people..

The film explores one of the first extreme reality shows that pushed boundaries and gave rise to an explosion of the genre worldwide. The feature documentary reveals the true...

Hulu has acquired rights to “The Contestant,” a documentary about an aspiring comedian who unknowingly becomes the most famous TV star in Japan.

Clair Titley directed the movie, which premiered at this year’s Toronto International Film Festival to positive reviews. “The Contestant” will launch on Hulu in 2024.

The documentary tells the stranger-than-fiction story of Tomoaki Hamatsu, nicknamed Nasubi, who auditioned for a TV show in 1998. The premise of “Denpa Shonen: A Life in Prizes,” the series that eventually made him a household name in Japan, left Nasubi naked in an empty room for more than a year and tasked him with filling out magazine sweepstakes to earn food, clothes and other necessities. But he had no idea he was becoming wildly famous in Japan as the series was broadcast to more than 15 million people.

“The Contestant” explores one of the first extreme reality shows that pushed boundaries and paved way for others like it.

Updated: While the fall festival season often plays home to the kind of films we’ve been buzzing about for quite some time (here are 36 of those very titles), the kind of features long set for “awards season potential” before they roll so much as a trailer, the sort of heavy-hitters we’re eager to keep chatting about for months and months (here are 18 in particular that we loved), there are always a wide variety of gems that arrive on the circuit still looking for homes (read: a way to reach the wider movie-going public).

This year’s season is no exception, and while the Hollywood strikes have thrown more than a few wrenches into business-as-usual, the rise of interim agreements and the need for many non-amptp distributors to bulk up their slates mean that sales should still be cooking. While Netflix has already done the bulk of this season’s buying,...

The 2023 Doc NYC lineup has officially been announced.

The program for the 14th annual festival includes opening night selection “The Contestant,” a real-life “Truman Show”-esque story of a Japanese comedian who was trapped alone and naked in an apartment for 15 months as part of a reality TV show. The only twist? The comedian had no idea he was being filmed. Clair Titley directs the stranger-than-fiction documentary which premiered at TIFF.

Doc NYC runs from November 8 through 26, featuring 30 world premieres and 26 U.S. premieres with more than 200 films programmed. New films from Wim Wenders, Penny Lane, Dawn Porter, and Jeff Zimbalist are among the lineup for America’s largest documentary festival, with screenings at New York City’s IFC Center, Sva Theatre, and Village East by Angelika. In-person screenings take place November 8 through 16, with online selections available through November 26.

The centerpiece screening is the world premiere of D.W. Young’s...

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...

For most Americans, the name Nasubi doesn’t mean anything. However, his impact on the world of television is immeasurable. Hell, he’s most likely the reason the eggplant emoji is used as a penis in text messaging. Seriously. But the cause of his fame and cultural significance is nearly overshadowed by an incredible darkness. You see, Nasubi is a Japanese man who was stripped naked, imprisoned for almost a year alone in a small room, and forced to survive off scraps of dog food.

Continue reading ‘The Contestant’ Review: Clair Titley’s Shocking Doc Shows The Power Of Human Resilience & The Depths Of Cruelty [TIFF] at The Playlist.