A salaryman's typical day starts early in the morning, followed by a crowded commute to work typically endured standing up; he works a minimum of 8 hours, followed by a round of 4+ hrs of often unpaid overtime (considered as a duty to his company). After work is finished he is expected to drink with his boss and co-workers. This job-centric lifestyle which leaves little to no time for individual or family life is considered normal in Japanese society, where personal sacrifice is endured for the larger cause (family, company, or nation).

It is not unusual to see many collapsed men in full suits sleeping in the streets close to the train stations on Friday nights or weekends. Over-work and binge drinking, plus no trains until 5:00AM drives Tokyo's residents to opposite spectrums- either a calm night out or a bender.

The aftermath of taking on the salaryman schedule and conduct, brings about grim outcomes; one of the most severe being “Karoshi” (death by over-work), in the form of suicide or sudden death.
Troubling issues brought about by the salaryman lifestyle affect millions of individuals, their families and society as a whole. Japan has topped the world suicide rates for years but recently we have seen a surge in media's reporting of work-related deaths (in late 2016 an intern at Dentsu-Tokyo's largest ad agency-jumped o of their building). Subsequently, Karoshi has become a hot topic and the Japanese government is being forced to take steps towards labour reform.

For years the plight of the Japanese work-force is carried on the shoulders of the salaryman, who's voice is drowned in a sea of millions; his personal story blurred by their colossal volume. We are here to tell their story.

The Impact

Storytelling is one of the pillars of what makes us humans. Gathering and sharing our anecdotes has been our cultural legacy since the early days of human development. Giving a platform for people to share their experiences and a medium for those stories to be amplified and shared is not only our legacy, but our obligation.

The salaryman's story is all of our stories. In an ever more competitive world, with more and more people flooding the work force and political and corporate power is stronger than ever, staying together and voicing abuse is imperative in it's power for change, for healing and compassion, and more.

One of the modern tools we have today for social mobility and discussion is the film world, where people's life experiences, coupled with facts, emotions, compelling visuals, music can be harmoniously combined in a way that few others can. Supporting each other in the telling of those stories is the glue that binds us together as a global tribe. Storytelling is the tool that will always be at our disposal as long as there is an audience for it.

Please help us by spreading the message of our film and helping to make the Salaryman film a reality.

What We Need

Our Salaryman crew has worked incredibly hard to get to where we are, but now we need your help to raise the money for the editing and post-production stage of our documentary!

We have gathered an amazing amount of powerful footage and material which we are now ready to edit, all we need is your support!

Our team has shot in Tokyo for a period of 4 months, spread out over a year.

In this time we have interviewed 50+ people (including Salarymen and their colleagues and families, and professionals ranging from sociologists, to economists, and linguists), and are now ready to shape all of this into a feature film with your help.

We really appreciate your collaboration!

Where Our Money Will Go

The main goal of our campaign is to pay for the editing of our documentary.

Our Editor's films include:

For more on Luis Alvarez:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0023224/

Nadia Conners:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2105775/

Ross Clarke:

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm2245581/

What You Get...Perks!

We are humbled and extremely thankful for all of your contributions, and are committed to shipping your physical rewards within 2 months of our campaign's end (excluding content under development).

All our perks are listed on the right.

Risks & Challenges​

Our crew is entirely committed to completing Salaryman in the highest of standards.

Telling the salaryman's story has been our priority since we embarked on this journey, and will continue to be so until our film is completed. Significant headway has already been made into the production of our documentary, funded almost entirely with our personal funds and grants we have received.

Naturally, we are aware there are risks involved with backing any project. However, as Salaryman is not in its early phases production (we have shot all our film's footage, translated all content, and have a finished a 30 minute Rough Cut). For those reasons and more there is less risk in delivering a compelling and revolutionary final product.

As with any creative endeavour, there will of course be unforeseen problems in the horizon, but our experienced and able team is ready to tackle them quickly and effectively in a manner that will not affect our film's post-production schedule. If significant problem were to arise we are committed to communicating it with transparency with our backers, along with solid and feasible solutions that will not affect our vision and completion of our film.

Other Ways You Can Help

We are incredibly thankful and humbled by your contributions!

Please remember, your help can come in many forms, from donations, to helping us spread the word about our film by sharing with friends via email or social media. 

Be an ambassador by telling your network why you back our project.  You can do this easily by forwarding our email to 10 friends or family members and asking them to join you in making a contribution.