What is fame? Why do we want it? And what does it take for an ordinary person to get it?

After hearing about the huge demand for foreign talents in Japan, three Aussie filmmakers ship their lives and girlfriends to Tokyo on an outrageous DIY mission to make 'ordinary' Dave famous. Along the way, they meet an eclectic ensemble of gaijin tarento (foreign talents) at various stages of the celebrity journey: a feisty Aussie cross-dresser, a starry-eyed Canadian J-pop wannabe and veteran TV sweetheart, Bob "The Beast" Sapp. But just how far must they go to reach the masses that real celebrity requires?

Four years in the making, Big in Japan is a strange and oddly philosophical fame joyride in the vein of Louis Theroux. A raw and unflinching take on the nature of modern fame, and a wacky adventure that pushes friendship and resolve to the brink.

PRESS QUOTES

“Fame is a drug and Japan is the connection in this fascinating new doco.” Travis Johnson, FilmInk

“…a remarkable, twisted, very funny odyssey into the worlds of media-saturation and fame infatuation.” Jim Schembri, 3AW

“….even where he fails, Dave’s awkward charm and his unfaltering commitment to the project, whether he’s parading through the world’s busiest intersection in a loincloth or drinking anything that goes through a blender dressed as a Japanese vegetable, keeps the film funny and entertaining.” Jake Tired, The AU Review

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A WALKING FISH PRODUCTION

DIRECTED BY: Lachlan McLeod
CO-DIRECTED BY: Louis Dai and David Elliot-Jones
WRITTEN, PRODUCED AND PRESENTED BY: David Elliot-Jones
EDITED BY: Louis Dai

Supported by the Low Budget Feature Film Marketing Program of Film Victoria

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