A YouTube documentary is seeking footage of life from all over the world, taken on the same day—for history.

"Every day the world writes a new story."

2020 has been a year like no other, and it is only a little over halfway over. This year was (and is) history in the making, and we're crossing into uncharted territory almost every day. It's a year that has brought civil unrest across the globe, natural disasters like bush fires in Australia, and a worldwide COVID-19 pandemic. All of this has made 2020 one for the record books, and a new documentary project wants to help preserve all that 2020 has brought us. 

Legendary movie producer Ridley Scott (Alien, Blade Runner, The Martian) along with the Academy Award-winning documentarian Kevin MacDonald are asking anyone who wants to participate to film their day on Saturday, July 25, 2020. This will be a massive global collaboration—a crowdsourced documentary that will depict life and its most candid moments at this specific point in history. The final product will be a feature-length documentary film Life in a Day.

A similar project was done in 2011, made up of 80,000 video clips submitted to YouTube. That film is almost 95 minutes long and shows life as it was recorded on July 24, 2010. 

The 2020 project will be the sequel to the above film and is expected to premiere at the Sundance Film Festival in 2021, as well as on YouTube. Described by those involved as a kind of time capsule, the documentary will reflect what is happening in the world right now, at this very moment, to be looked upon by generations to come. 

“In 2020, history is being made every day.

Australian bushfires. Civil unrest in Hong Kong. A pandemic that took precious lives and changed the way we live. Protests in every corner of America — and around the world — to demand that Black Lives Matter.

But, in the midst of these extraordinary events, everyday life still continues.
We share moments, music, and meals.
We dance. We laugh. We cry.
We love. We fear. We hope.

What if we captured all of it in a single day?”

Anyone can participate, and selected clips will be woven into a feature-length film. Each submission is asked to answer four questions:

• What do you love?
• What do you fear?
• What would you like to change (either about your life or the world)?
• What’s in your pocket?

Clips can be any length and, in any language, and can show anything from a regular day of chores to a wedding or celebration of life. Submissions will be taken from July 25 through August 2. To learn more about specific video formats and requirements, click here. 

In a time like none of us have ever seen, this is an opportunity to share a hopeful message and be part of something far bigger than ourselves. Will you be submitting a glimpse into your life to be part of the Life in a Day movement? 

What other crowdsourced creative projects have you seen happening that we should know about? Let us know in the comments!