Ridley Scott helms YouTube competition for documentary

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Hollywood directors Ridley Scott and Kevin Macdonald will pull together video from YouTube users for a documentary that captures for future generations the global community in one day, YouTube said on Wednesday.

The documentary, called "Life in a Day," will select footage from 20 people around the world who capture moments of their daily lives on July 24. They will be credited as co-directors on the film and flown to its premiere at the Sundance Film Festival held in January.

Macdonald, who made critically-acclaimed "The Last King of Scotland," will direct the feature-length documentary and Scott, who helmed Oscar-winning "Gladiator" and a host of hits such as "Blade Runner," "Alien," and "Thelma & Louise," will produce.

Macdonald's documentary, "One Day in September," about Israeli athletes taken hostage at the 1972 Munich Olympics, won the Oscar for best documentary in 2000.

"'Life in a Day' is a time capsule that will tell future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010," Macdonald said in a statement. "It is a unique experiment in social filmmaking, and what better way to gather a limitless array of footage than to engage the world's online community."

To participate, YouTube users must upload their footage to youtube.com/lifeinaday.

The film is the latest venture between YouTube and groups working in arts and entertainment. Last month the prestigious Guggenheim museums launched a competition that will exhibit the most creative online videos submitted from YouTube users.

(Reporting by Christine Kearney, editing by Bob Tourtellotte)