ABOUT THE PROJECT

LOGLINE
The most littered single-use toxic plastic item in the world is made of a kind of contamination found in 900 species in nature. BUTTLIFE: THE SERIES shows how human health and planetary health are connected.

SYNOPSIS
The series begins with a close-up look at the life of a cigarette butt, and proceeds into a campaign of short, entertaining, memorable, creative segments to play in cinemas prior to main features. The shorts are designed to attract curiosity and provoke conversations. Most consumers are not aware that each year 845,000 tons of cigarette butts end up in the oceans of the world, most of that bulk in the form of used filters that resist biodegrading and contribute to the world’s crisis of micro and nano plastic pollution. Most smokers know their tobacco addiction is associated with diseases that cause slow death. Yet numerous studies show that most mature, heavy smokers regret ever starting, don’t want their kids to smoke, and don’t know how to quit. Most people have no idea that exhaled smoke causes well over a million nonsmokers to die each year of tobacco-related diseases. And most people just don’t think about the potential consequences of tossing tons of microplastic fibers saturated with carcinogens into the greater environment.

BUTTLIFE: THE SERIES takes an editorial approach of informing with the wonder of science and real research. No blaming or shaming, just entertaining and thought-provoking segments of interest to smokers and nonsmokers alike, including: How to prepare to change a habit; The “Zero Nicotine” trap; How gender affects quitting; Greenwashing; The real global economy of tobacco; Invisible nicotine; When household pets smoke; A fact check on vaping and e-cigarettes, and more.

PROJECT TYPE Documentary Series (Short Form)

DIRECTOR Anna Chavez, Suzan Beraza
PRODUCER Anna Chavez
EXECUTIVE PRODUCER Anna Chavez