Among the participants invited to Sundance are three filmmakers from Middle Eastern countries: Afghanistan, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. (See below for the full list of those attending the world premiere.) Harvey Glen, a cinematographer based in Dubai, recorded a day in the life of Ayamatti, a gardener from Kerala who has worked in the UAE for 13 years. You can watch the full piece (in 3 sections) on Mr. Glen's YouTube channel, or read about his Sundance experience at his blog (which also gives tips on how to become a cameraman).

As quoted in the Life in a Day press release, Kevin Macdonald remarked that 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 flavor of what it was like to be alive on July [24,] 2010."

Ridley Scott said, "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."

In fact, every minute more than 35 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube, the world's most popular online video community. That amounts to 50,400 hours every day (albeit not all of it is original material). Essentially, this is perpetual crowd-sourcing. But how to sort through it all remains a big question. Life in a Day, too, is an example of user-generated content. Although its scope still conveys the nearly incomprehensible diversity of the daily lives people lead and the varied, creative ways in capturing those experiences, the mandate and professional shaping of Life in a Day brings the world's many voices into focus, even if ever-so briefly. Moreover, it brings to mind a classic of international cinema.

Life in a Day is a super-sized take on Dziga Vertov's city symphony, Man with a Movie Camera (1929) [see a three-minute trailer at mubi.com or find several versions with different soundtracks at video.google.com]. Described as a cinematic experiment (like the patchwork edited together by Macdonald's team), Vertov's documentary was not only a chronicle of life during the course of one day in the Soviet Union, but also an innovative deconstruction of the art of filmmaking.

While Life in a Day is currently basking in the spotlight, another similar project, called One Day on Earth, founded in 2008, has created its own online community and shared archive. As reported by Mashable, the organization just released their geo-tagged video map of content shot on October 10, 2010. Connected to a number of non-profits (such as the United Nations Development Program), One Day on Earth champions education and change. Digital educational toolkits covering topics of video creation and participatory media are available on their website, and uploaded videos can be linked to bring awareness to a particular cause. The number of clips in the One Day on Earth archive (between 5,000 to 6,000 edited pieces) may pale in comparison to Life in a Day, but founders Kyle Ruddick and Brandon Litman do not intend for their initiative to be a one-hit wonder. If this experiment appeals to you, there may still be another chance to participate: the same team is planning for a "sequel" on November 11, 2011.

However, if all this has not compelled you to run out and purchase, rent or borrow a video camera, consider aiding someone else to do so. With the rise of the Internet, crowd-funding (long popular with charities and political campaigns) has reached a new level in helping to produce art. For example, the £900,000 budget for Franny Armstrong's The Age of Stupid, which screened in Abu Dhabi in 2009, was successfully raised over five years; visit the Spanner Films website for a step-by-step crowd-funding guide.

Even film festivals are getting in the swing of things. The International Film Festival of Rotterdam's Cinema Reloaded program seeks small-change donations of five Euros or more, which rewards its patrons with a co-producer credit on new works by emerging filmmakers Alexis dos Santos and Ho Yuhang. Meanwhile, Kickstarter has been highly successful in raising funds for creative projects (not just film). The twist there is that if a project's financial goal is not met within a stated period of time, credit cards are not charged and the pledges are nullified.

But perhaps filming is the secret to a long life? Filmmaker, exhibitor, critic and "godfather of American avant-garde cinema" Jonas Mekas is in his late 80s and has been recording his life since the 1950s; for 2007, he shot video footage every day of the year as part of his 365 Day Project, which can be viewed in its entirety on his website. Famed cinematographer and documentary filmmaker Albert Maysles is also in his 80s and, like Mekas, he finds poetry in life through the lens of a camera. He still tries to shoot something every day that he can. Mr. Maysles has filmed in so many countries that a clip reel of his career could be a global overview of the past 50 years.

For a mosaic of what it was like on earth on July 24, 2010, be sure to watch the world premiere of Life in a Day on Thursday, January 27 – and find the inspiration to tell your story or to help others tell theirs.

Life in a Day contributors (either the filmmakers or the subjects of the submitted clip) appearing at Sundance:

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

Addendum (January 26, 2011):

At Sundance, National Geographic Films finalized a deal to handle U.S. distribution rights for Life in a Day and plans to release the film in theaters on July 24, exactly a year after footage was recorded by thousands around the world on that particular day in 2010. The theatrical opening will happen day-and-date with its availability on YouTube, which served as the conduit for more than 80,000 uploaded clips. National Geographic's own YouTube channel logged more than 250 million views in 2010. The company's entertainment division has also been involved with March of the Penguins, Cherien Dabis' Amreeka and Peter Weir's The Way Back (which was co-produced with Imagenation Abu Dhabi). National Geographic is also distributing current Best Documentary Feature Oscar nominee Restrepo.