On Wednesday, 2 December at 9:00 p.m., Discovery Channel (Astro Channel 551) will premiere RACING EXTINCTION, a groundbreaking film by Academy Award®-winning director Louie Psihoyos. Broadcasting to audiences in over 220 countries within 24 hours in this global television event, the film highlights several pressing environmental issues faced by our planet and warns of a possible sixth mass extinction. Malaysian personalities Marina Mahathir, Harith Iskander, Ean Nasrun, Aishah Sinclair, Elvira Arul, Natalie Kniese and Russell Curtis – join a host of Discovery talent and other personalities to lend their support and spread the film’s urgent message on-air and online. Discovery Channel has also partnered Malaysia Nature Society to a host screening of RACING EXTINCTION and talks on the Malaysian eco system for students of Universiti Putra Malaysia, Klang, and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru.
In the landmark 90-minute documentary, Psihoyos and the team behind the Academy Award®-winning film The Cove assemble a crew of artists and activists on a new undercover operation to expose the world of endangered species trafficking, and their race to prevent mass extinction. Spanning the globe to infiltrate the world’s most dangerous black markets and using high tech tactics to document the link between carbon emissions and species extinction, the documentary reveals stunning, never-before-seen images that aim to create a tipping point to inspire the changes needed to preserve a planet that can sustain life for all species. Psihoyos says, “There has never been a more important time in the world than to be alive now — the decisions we make in the next few years will impact the Earth and animal species for millions of years.”
RACING EXTINCTION will be the catalyst for a larger, ongoing campaign utilising the hashtag #StartWith1Thing to create a global movement to empower audiences to join the fight to save these animals while there is still time. Through this global premiere and Discovery’s additional platforms including digital and social media, the campaign aims to ignite curiosity and global actions which people can take in four areas: fighting wildlife trafficking, reducing carbon emissions through use of green energy/transport, supporting green causes, and eating less meat.
