WATCH: ‘4 Days to Save the world’ was a reality show with big ambitions. See a preview of the Star’s investigation.
By RYAN FLEISCHERELL UPI
(Inside Science) — “4 Days to Save the world.”
“It’s a little difficult to believe it’s going to happen, but it’s real,” says filmmaker John “Jack” Lautner, reflecting the excitement generated by the real-life story he was making into a reality show on the Star Network.
The premise of Lautner’s “4 Days to Save the World” — a reality program on PBS focusing on four days to end extreme poverty in the world — is simple: If, on one evening, millions of people gather in a single location to take action to end extreme poverty, then the next morning they all meet for the final day and make a public commitment to end extreme poverty.
The idea was born out of a 2012 trip Lautner took to Tanzania while shooting a movie and visiting countries struggling with food insecurity and other societal ills. During his journey, Lautner met Ugo Oumarola, founder of the Global Fund for Women, which works with governments to reduce the gap between the rich and poor. In May 2012, Lautner and Oumarola founded the 4D Project, which aims to produce and air “4 Days to Save the World.”
The project’s website now features an 11-minute preview of a new documentary about the project, with the title “4 Days to Save the World.”
Lautner’s “4 Days to Save the World” is just one in a series of events that will be held in the United States and around the world to celebrate Earth Day, May 22. To date, the public has chosen a staggering 1 billion acts of sustainability, according to The Worldwatch Institute; as of 2015, about 700 million people will mark the occasion.