One of the things that can really get on anyone’s nerves at Christmas is the way in which we are surrounded by images of perfection.

From films and TV shows through to idealised advertising campaigns, the traditional scenes of calm and tranquillity can be so far removed from everyday life as to be unbearable.

This can be particularly true if you have a young family, as although the festive season can take on even more significance and brings even greater happiness, the stresses and strains of getting everything in place can be exhausting.

By Andrew Malone via Flickr

Thankfully, this year Sainsbury’s Christmas in a Day turns the tables on the usual big retailer campaigns with an imaginative and unique take on things. Instead of spending millions of pounds on a short clip for TV, Sainsbury’s have spared no expense in creating a full 45 minute festive feature film.

What’s even more special about the project is that it aims to tell the story of Christmas Day across Britain by using crowd sourced footage made by everyday normal families.

Hollywood

Director Kevin Macdonald is the Oscar winning man behind the award-winning 2011 film Life In A Day, which featured 80,000 crowd-sourced clips. For this new project, which has been produced by Hollywood legend Ridley Scott, Macdonald has taken the same approach to edit down more than 360 hours of film into a series of delightful and heart warming scenes.

“We kept talking about what an “in a day” film might be like if we could just choose a particular day that was already significant to people, and thought it had to be Christmas, because it is the one time in the year when everyone steps back from ordinary life for a day and we get to stop and think about our lives in a way that we are all just too busy to during the rest of the year,” explains the director.

“People have been hugely generous sending us more than 360 hours of footage. My approach to Christmas in a Day was to look at everything and think about what the footage revealed about the different ways we celebrate or approach Christmas,” he added.

Real life

The film works so well because it is made up of slices of real life that offer a unique glimpse into our neighbours’ homes.

“It was completely unlike any film that I had made before, and it really was an experiment in creating the opportunity to hear and see ordinary people share their lives, their loves and their fears,” said Macdonald.

“There are so many experiences which are common to so many of us, rituals and preparations, being with family and friends, or being alone, it was all there in the contributions that people sent in. I feel that the film stands out for many reasons, it is funny, moving, often beautifully shot, but above all there is beauty in the ordinariness of it,” he continued.

From scenes of excited kids ready to open presents, to families putting up their trees and decorations, through to a group of older ladies dancing, the film manages to portray such a wide range of ages and shows that Christmas is a time of celebration that really is inclusive.

Meaning

It is here that the film really makes its mark. You can see for yourself how the emotions of Christmas time are a common thread that binds so many different people together.

One of the major lessons that the film has for us all is the same as that contained in the great Christmas tales of the past such as Dickens’ ‘A Christmas Carol’. No matter how much we have to be grateful for and to celebrate, there is always someone who could do with a little more Christmas cheer themselves, and ‘goodwill to all’ is the most powerful message of the season. From children and adults to pets and friends, Christmas is a time for everyone and that is something which the Sainsbury’s film sums up beautifully.

By Andrew Roberts (andrewr) via Flickr

This is a guest post bought to you in association with Sainsbury’s