Oscar-winning filmmaker Kevin Macdonald (Touching the Void, State of Play) wants a moment from your life. If you film something, anything, tomorrow – Saturday July 24th – and upload it to YouTube, you could be part of his mosaic documentary feature, Life In A Day.
“Real life is always more extraordinary than anything you can make up,” says the director, who will be working with a team of editors to comb through the footage you provide.
In an extensive chat with **Empire **about the plans for his sixth feature, he talks about the “fascinating” creativity and positivity of the online video experience, but also of his desire to bring order to it: “To use user-generated content to make a film, rather than just snippets or an amusing moment – which the average YouTube clip is. Actually to make a film: which is about having structure and intention and meaning.”
Users whose footage is included will receive a co-director credit, while 20 of the contributors will be invited to attend the 2011 Sundance Film Festival, where the picture will premiere. It is also likely to receive a limited theatrical run worldwide. It will definitely be shown online (natch).
“You sort of feel like if you could see the whole of YouTube you would see something amazing,” says Macdonald. “You’re looking into the eyes of God – as they would say in some movie...”
If you’d like to contribute, visit the official website for more details.
Read our full Q&A with Macdonald to discover more about his inspiration for Life In A Day and his reflections on meeting its executive producer, Sir Ridley Scott. “He described to me the opening of his new Alien film...”