The Melbourne Documentary Film Festival 2018 - Big in Japan
Vowing to do whatever it takes to get Big in Japan, 'ordinary guy' Dave sets out on an outrageous mission that ultimately reveals the secrets of modern celebrity. A decidedly anti-Hollywood fame story.
Interview with Presenter/Co-director David Elliot-Jones
Watch Big in Japan on Prime Video, YouTube and Google Play
Congratulations! Why did you make your film?
Fame has never been more prevalent. The internet has made it possible for ordinary people to pursue fame in all kinds of new ways. But this new type of fame doesn't necessarily come with the traditional 'rewards' of money, glamour and prestige. Our goal was to explore fame in the nitty gritty, and answer the question: is fame really all it's cracked up to be?
Imagine I’m a member of the audience. Why should I watch this film?
In short, because Big in Japan is entertaining and insightful. It's an adventure-comedy with laugh out loud moments as well as a wholesome journey that provides a compelling fame case study. It involves three mates moving to Japan to do whatever it takes to make me, a hopelessly ordinary person, famous.
Along the way, we meet foreigners at different stages of the fame journey, including an Aussie cross-dressing heavy metal singer (Rick "Ladybeard" Magarey), a Canadian J-pop wannabe (Kelsey Parnigoni) and a veteran American ex-fighter and TV sweetheart (Bob Sapp). You will learn about the human drivers for fame, as well as the perks and price of celebrity, and you will also experience unique, celebrity subcultures in Japan and on the internet.
How do personal and universal themes work in your film?
Universal themes are around the nature of fame and belonging in a digital era. On social media, more of us are projecting our ‘best selves’ in an incessant hunt for more ‘likes’, getting caught up in dubious entertainment black holes, and forming impressions of the world through the filter of social media.
On the other hand, social media is a powerful tool that allows us to hear new voices, express ourselves, and connect with, understand and celebrate each other in unprecedented ways. We ask our viewers where we draw the line between entertainment versus voyeurism, intimacy versus over-sharing and belonging versus being detached from reality.
Regarding personal themes, a big part of Big in Japan is just how far I'll go to see through the fame experiment, which involves something of an identity struggle and also explores friendship.
How have the script and film evolved over the course of their development?
The aim was always to meet three interesting people at different stages of fame (one just starting out, one getting big and one who had been famous for a while) while doing whatever it takes to make me famous. How we went about that constantly evolved. We just knew that we had to sign me up to a foreign talent agency for TV work and had also decided that we'd try to use YouTube for our own DIY fame attempts.
I failed a lot, so we often returned to the drawing board to try out new tactics. We followed quite a few other people before we arrived at Kelsey, Rick and Bob as our main subjects. We knew that we wanted each of the people that we met to communicate different aspects of fame, so it took a long time and a lot of speculative shooting to find scenes that spoke to the nature of fame and the conclusions we wanted to draw.
What type of feedback have you received so far?
The impression that we're getting is that Big in Japan is a crowd pleaser. It seems like it's a really fun film for people to watch and the funniest bits of the film often have the entire cinema laughing. It's very special for us to witness and it's also reassuring, because we had no idea if our gags would be funny to other people. People have said that they felt like the film showed an authentic perspective on life in Japan.
Has the feedback surprised or challenged your point of view?
Some people told us that they found the film inspiring. We didn't make the film to inspire people to seek fame, but we did want to tell an authentic story that avoided alienating fame-seekers. I found it surprising and revealing that the film was inspiring for some people, and that some people are interested in fame despite the heavy price it often involves, such as hard work, sacrifice or isolation.
What are you looking to achieve by having your film more visible on www.wearemovingstories.com?
We'd love to use this platform to help spread the word about Big in Japan, especially since we'll be releasing the film globally on July 17.
Who do you need to come on board (producers, sales agents, buyers, distributors, film festival directors, journalists) to amplify this film’s message?
We would appreciate any help we can get from writers, bloggers and fellow filmmakers in helping to spread the word. We'd also like to chat to buyers.
What type of impact and/or reception would you like this film to have?
It would be great if people would consider their own social media patterns, how it is shaping the digital media landscape and creating new types of celebrities/stars. I hope the film inspires young people to think about real life vs online/social media life. One of the key messages coming out of Big in Japan is that there is value in authentic, real life experiences.
What’s a key question that will help spark a debate or begin a conversation about this film?
Why are we so obsessed with social media?
What other projects are the key creatives developing or working on now?
Co-director Louis Dai is in the final stages of post-production for his feature documentary about the longest held death row inmate in the world Iwao Hakamada who is currently in the midst of a legal battle for a retrial. We are currently developing our next feature documentary which is also a fish out of water story set in another country.
Interview: June 2018
We Are Moving Stories embraces new voices in drama, documentary, animation, TV, web series, music video, women's films, LGBTQIA+, POC, First Nations, scifi, supernatural, horror, world cinema. If you have just made a film - we'd love to hear from you. Or if you know a filmmaker - can you recommend us? More info: Carmela
Big in Japan
Vowing to do whatever it takes to get Big in Japan, 'ordinary guy' Dave sets out on an outrageous mission that ultimately reveals the secrets of modern celebrity. A decidedly anti-Hollywood fame story.
Length: 1 hour 35 min
Director: Lachlan McLeod, Louis Dai & David Elliot-Jones
Producer: David Elliot-Jones
Writer: David Elliot-Jones
About the writer, director and producer:
LACHLAN MCLEOD is an emerging director. His first film Convenient Education (SBS, 2013) explored the plight of Indian student-migrants in Australia.
LOUIS DAI has made films for broadcasters and web platforms such as The Vice and The Guardian.
DAVID ELLIOT-JONES is a filmmaker with two major credits in Big in Japan and Convenient Education. David also freelances in entertainment publicity.
Key cast: Rick "Ladybeard" Magarey, Kelsey Parnigoni, Bob "The Beast" Sapp
Looking for: journalists, buyers.
Facebook: facebook.com/biginjapandoc
Twitter: @biginjapandoc
Instagram: @biginjapandoc
Other: www.biginjapandoc.com
Funders: Pozible crowdfunders, Film Victoria
Made in association with: Walking Fish Productions www.walkingfishproductions.com.au
Where can I watch it next and in the coming month?
Melbourne Documentary Film Festival on Saturday July 7th. Global release on Tuesday July 17th. Pre-order here.