SA filmmaker makes YouTube’s ‘Life in a Day’ cut

South African, Kjell Bismeyer’s clip entitled ,’Elephants swimming by moonlight‘, will be included in the film Life In A Day, a cinematic experiment which aims to capture life around the world in a single day.

Academy Award-winning director Kevin Macdonald (State of Play, Last King of Scotland, Touching the Void) recently completed work on the movie, drawing on 4,500 hours of footage sent in from 192 countries. The film was produced by Ridley Scott’s Scott Free UK in partnership with YouTube.

Contributors whose submissions were chosen are credited as co-directors, and 26 of them have been invited to attend the world premiere of the film on Thursday, January 27, as part of the 2011 Sundance Film Festival.

Viewers worldwide are invited to tune into the live stream on youtube.com/lifeinaday for their only chance to see the film before it comes out on YouTube, on DVD, and in theaters in 2011 (in certain regions). Following the premiere, festival director John Cooper will moderate a global Q&A with Macdonald and the 26 filmmakers.

For viewers who will be unable to tune in at 6:00pm MT, the film will be re-broadcast on youtube.com/lifeinaday on January 28th at 7pm in their local time zone, and subtitled in 25 languages.

The 26 contributors invited to attend the premiere span the globe from Egypt to the Ukraine. Their film clips capture a wide array of life experiences, including a Korean man who has been cycling the world for nine years, a young mother battling cancer and a Russian free-runner making Moscow his playground.

Executive producer Ridley Scott says, “I am delighted that we’re bringing together contributors from all over the globe in such a unique way. I believe Life In A Day will inspire more people to pick up a camera and tell their stories.”

“The process of making Life In A Day has been such an inspiring one for me and my team who helped view and log all 4 500 hours of footage we received. Everyday we felt like we were seeing 20 different possible films as we got insights into so many people’s lives,” says Macdonald.

“It is a testament to the skill, insight and generosity of so many contributors that we have ended up with such a powerful, cohesive and emotionally engaging film – which really gives you a flavour of what it was like to be alive on 24th July 2010.”

The contributors (either filmmakers or subjects of the submitted clip) invited to the Sundance premiere of Life In A Day are:

The contributors (either filmmakers or subjects of the submitted clip) invited to the Sundance premiere of Life In A Day are:

Massoud Hossaini – Kabul, Afghanistan

Cristina Bocchialini | Ayman El Sayed Hassan – Cairo, Egypt

Soma Helmi – Bali, Indonesia

Hiroaki Aikawa | Taiji Aikawa – Tokyo, Japan

Marek Mackovic | Okhwan Yoon – Kathmandu, Nepal

Alberto Rauizo Gonzalez | Cain Abel Tapia Chavez | Avelino Tapia Layme – Arequipa, Peru

Renat Ardilanov | Alexander Bayturin – Moscow, Russia

Patricia Marinez del Hoyo | Toniu Xou | Virginia Salvado Segu | Araceli Segu Muste – Barcelona, Spain

Boris Grishkevich – Zakarpatska, Ukraine

Harvey Glen – Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Caryn Waechter – New York, NY – United States

Christoper Brian Heerdt – Naperville, IL – United States

David Jacques – Woonsocket, RI – United States

Betsy DelValley – Urbana, IL – United States

Bob Liginski, Jr. | Bobby Liginski III | Catherine Anne Liginsky – Grayslake, IL – United States