The Life In A Day (LIAD) campaign organised by YouTube in July last year came to fruition at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival yesterday. Participant of the campaign and co-director on the LIAD film that premiered there is 23-year-old debutant filmmaker and Mumbai-based engineer, Pankaj Rai.
The LIAD campaign had asked for filmmakers around the globe to capture on camera one day of their lives and upload it to YouTube. A longer movie to be directed by Hollywood filmmakers Kevin Macdonald and Ridley Scott would then include footage from these entries.
Rai uploaded five clips on YouTube, which successively showed activities from his daily routine. Out of them, the fifth — an eight minute-long clip featuring him having dinner with his friend — was selected for the final cut. “While the earlier four clips were more or less without dialogue, the fifth one showed me engaged in conversation with a close friend. It was a very personal moment. I think that’s what they were looking for,” Rai says.
This was Rai’s first attempt at filmmaking, and he had absolutely no clue his first project would be screened at an international film festival. Although he hasn’t made it to the list of filmmakers who are being flown down to the United States for the premiere, this, he believes, is a great achievement to begin with.
{{/usCountry}}This was Rai’s first attempt at filmmaking, and he had absolutely no clue his first project would be screened at an international film festival. Although he hasn’t made it to the list of filmmakers who are being flown down to the United States for the premiere, this, he believes, is a great achievement to begin with.
{{/usCountry}}“My movie was shot at a poor resolution, and that’s perhaps why they couldn’t include more of it. But now I know I also want to pursue filmmaking!” he says.
The final movie will be streamed live on the Life In A Day channel on YouTube. Indian viewers can catch the movie at 6 am and 7 pm today. “I will now be glued to the LIAD channel until the movie streams!” Rai exults.