Life in a Day 2020 by Kevin Macdonald
Life in a Day 2020 by Kevin Macdonald, an official selection of the Special Events section at the 2021 Sundance Film Festival. Courtesy of Sundance Institute.

YouTube Originals released the first trailer today for the documentary, “Life In A Day 2020,” launching February 6 on the film’s YouTube channel. “Life In A Day 2020” premieres virtually at the Sundance Film Festival on February 1.

On July 25, 2020, people all over the world filmed their day and uploaded their footage to be considered for inclusion in the final feature-length documentary. Directed by Academy Award-winning director Kevin MacDonald (The Mauritanian, One Day in September, The Last King of Scotland), and executive produced by Ridley Scott (The Martian, Gladiator) and Kai Hsiung (Lords of Chaos), “Life In A Day 2020” is composed entirely of selected contributions from participants, and showcases just how extraordinary life can be on an ordinary day.

Ten years after the original “Life In A Day,” YouTube and the filmmakers asked people all over the world to record their lives to tell the story of a single day on Earth. The filmmakers received more than 300,000 submissions, nearly four times the number of submissions to the previous film, which includes thousands of hours of footage from 192 different countries, in more than 65 languages.

Among the massive number of submissions received for consideration, notable individuals featured in the uploaded footage include COVID-19 vaccine researchers in Oxford, Rohingya and Syrian refugees, Black Lives Matter protesters, a US Army veteran reflecting on his service, a woman and her challenging fertility journey, and many more personal portraits of individuals all over the world. Additionally, previous participants from the 2010 film were also included in this year’s film.

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