- Welcome to Independent Lens .
I'm Pete Schwaba, host of PBS Wisconsin's Director's Cut .
Actor Jared Leto is known for taking on
daring and sometimes controversial roles.
One such role,
his portrayal of a trans woman suffering from HIV
in Dallas Buyer's Club, won him an Academy Award.
In tonight's film, Leto takes risks from behind the camera,
as director and producer
in the ambitious A Day in the Life of America .
When I use the word 'ambitious',
it's almost an understatement.
Leto set out to define what is America
by sending camera crews
to every state, Washington DC, and Puerto Rico
all on the same day: July 4th 2017.
His goal?
To capture the mood of a country during a tumultuous summer.
The director's shot list included
a person walking across the entire country,
a birth,
and the last words from someone about to die....
and, of course, lots of fireworks.
In addition to shooting milestones,
the film covers complicated issues that our nation faces
like the opioid crisis, gun violence, and racism.
Despite these somber topics,
Leto also says there is plenty of optimism on display.
He calls his film apolitical
and says he had to remain objective
to truly portray an honest look
at who we are as a nation.
If producing and directing weren't enough to keep him busy,
Leto's band 30 Seconds to Mars
provided the soundtrack for his visual journey.
Leto found his inspiration for this project
from National Geographic .
As a young child, Jared and his brother
were raised by a single mother
and survived on food stamps.
He called the magazine his gateway to the world
and remembers Nat Geo sending photographers out
to capture a single day in America.
His goal was to build on that idea.
An ambitious film by an ambitious artist.
Luckily, all we have to do is watch.
A Day in the Life of America starts now,
on PBS Wisconsin,
your home for independent film.