Videos

9/11 Ground Zero Related

I. NEW YORK FIREFIGHTERS, 50-minutes, produced 2002 by Discovery.

This beautifully produced documentary reverently looks at one small family of people, a fire rescue company in the Bronx, who lost eight members in the 9/11 devastation. From everything that took place at the twin towers on 9/11, this film takes a narrow lens and penetrates the horror of it all, focusing in on the heroism and the humanity of a few dedicated men. Afterwards, the surviving members of Rescue 3 are left to cope with the loss of their fallen brothers. Yet amidst the painful reminders of funerals, widows, and fatherless children; the men of Rescue 3 endure. When watching this close up, you feel an extraordinary kinship to the survivors, not only in New York, but also to the survivors of other terrorist's attacks, such as in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. This film is about a small group of Americans whose lives have been completely changed by the singular largest act of terrorism ever committed. Their new lives define the true meaning of humanity - rekindling a pride for America.

II. ENGINEERING THE FUTURE WORLD TRADE CENTER: REBUILDING GROUND ZERO, 50-minutes, produced 2003 by Discovery.

What's to be done with the site on which the World Trade Center once stood? New York city planners, architects and community leaders struggled - with tact and appropriate delicacy - to devise a structure that paid homage to the thousands of lives lost and a land-use solution that satisfied all interests. With animated graphics we get an awesome forward look not only at Ground Zero, but the changes in the underground trains and subway lines. Now, with the recent announcement that Daniel Libeskind has won the worldwide architectural design competition, work can begin in earnest to rebuild the World Trade Center - as well as a wide swath of downtown Manhattan. Using the very latest materials and energy sources - as well as taking into account the structural and technical problems exposed by the disaster - architects plan one of the most progressive, gutsy buildings every conceived. Along with models and graphics, Daniel Libeskind speaks as a poet in describing the future plans for Ground Zero.

Note on both films. When we recently reviewed both of these films, we looked at them "back to back." It was a powerful experience - in many ways like observing death and the Phoenix rebirth. As one of our colleagues suggested, we offer these two documentaries as a package, the two together, for possible programming around 9/11, but certainly not restricted to that. By showing them back-to- back it magnifies their potential impact (the firefighter film chronicling the human aspects - loss, resilience, compassion; the Libeskind piece highlighting learned lessons to improve the future.)

Rights: Educational rights permit the use of these videos in front of groups providing no admission is charged for viewing. This video cannot be broadcast or duplicated.