9/11 Anniversary Programming Brings New Documentaries and Dramas as Hollywood Marks 25 Years

Two new 9/11 projects debut this weekend as the United States observes the 25th anniversary of the September 11 attacks, with Lifetime’s ‘Angel in the Rubble: The Genelle Guzman Story’ premiering Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET and the documentary ‘9/11 Remembered: 25 Years Later’ airing Friday, Sept. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on NewsNation.

The Lifetime film stars Sherri Shepherd as Genelle Guzman, a New York City transit worker who was buried beneath the North Tower after it collapsed on Sept. 11, 2001. Guzman was trapped for 27 hours before rescuers found her, making her the final survivor recovered from Ground Zero. Shepherd also serves as an executive producer alongside Robin Roberts, Linda Berman and Anne Carlucci. The film is based on Guzman’s 2011 memoir ‘Angel in the Rubble: The Miraculous Rescue of 9/11’s Last Survivor.’

Documentary Features Firsthand Accounts

‘9/11 Remembered: 25 Years Later’ is produced by Deborah Flora and directed by Jonathan Flora. The film includes interviews with President Donald Trump, former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani, actor and advocate Gary Sinise, and FDNY firefighters, survivors and relatives of victims.

Jonathan Flora said the anniversary carries particular meaning for younger Americans. ‘When you think about one third of Americans alive today were not alive on 9/11, so that’s not just young people like our kids. That’s their teachers as well,’ he said. ‘It’s important to remind them of what we stand for, why this country is worth fighting for, and to remember our history and pass it along to the next generation.’

The documentary also revisits the passengers and crew aboard United Flight 93 and includes footage from Shanksville, Pennsylvania, and the Pentagon.

Netflix Documentary Chronicles Tribeca Festival Origins

Netflix released ‘Tribeca 25’ on Sept. 11, a documentary directed by Matt Tyrnauer that chronicles how Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal built the Tribeca Film Festival in the aftermath of the attacks. The film traces the festival’s origins through archival footage and interviews with De Niro, Rosenthal, Martin Scorsese, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, Whoopi Goldberg, Nas, Jon M. Chu, Nia DaCosta and Denis Leary.

De Niro spoke about the festival’s creation at a People Talks event on Sept. 10. ‘We had talked about maybe doing a festival. It wasn’t really a serious conversation. We were sort of kicking it around,’ De Niro said. ‘And then when 9/11 happened, we wanted to revitalize the neighborhood, to say the least. And so we talked about actually doing it and we said, Let’s do it. Just made the commitment.’

Rosenthal added: ‘We had 120 days, 1,300 volunteers, no money, no blueprint, just an idea and a neighborhood that needed people back in it.’ The first Tribeca Film Festival launched in May 2002, just eight months after the attacks.

Additional Anniversary Projects

Netflix released ‘Turning Point: Generation 9/11’ on Sept. 2, a documentary exploring how the attacks reshaped the generation that came after them. The film follows the Turning Point franchise, which previously covered the War on Terror and the Cold War.

National Geographic and Disney+ debuted ‘9/11: Reunited’ on Aug. 21, a three-part documentary series made with the 9/11 Memorial & Museum that brings together survivors and first responders who experienced life-or-death moments together on that day.

MLB Network premiered ‘When America Took the Field’ on Sept. 10, a documentary about baseball’s role in helping the nation heal after the attacks. ‘9/11: United We Stand — 25 Years Later,’ a two-hour special exploring how sports, music, Broadway and comedy helped Americans recover, is now streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.

In the UK, Atomic Television has produced ‘9/11: The Unseen Tapes’ for Channel 5, a 90-minute documentary featuring previously unseen footage captured by Reuters journalists during the attacks and in the days that followed.

Los Angeles Times Revisits Films That Capture the Mood

The Los Angeles Times published a retrospective on Sept. 11 examining nine films that best capture the mood of 9/11, arguing that oblique dramas have proven more enduring than literal depictions of the attacks. The list includes ‘Donnie Darko’ (2001), ’25th Hour’ (2002), ‘Munich’ (2005), ‘United 93’ (2006), ‘The Dark Knight’ (2008), ‘Man on Wire’ (2008), ‘The Hurt Locker’ (2009), ‘Margaret’ (2011) and ‘Zero Dark Thirty’ (2012).

The Times noted that Spike Lee’s ’25th Hour’ included American flags dotting lawns and a credits sequence featuring the Tribute in Light. Spielberg digitally added the Twin Towers to a final scene in ‘Munich.’ Christopher Nolan filled ‘The Dark Knight’ with bombings, mass surveillance and questions about how far is too far.

‘Angel in the Rubble: The Genelle Guzman Story’ premieres Saturday, Sept. 12 at 8 p.m. ET on Lifetime, with rebroadcasts throughout the weekend. ‘9/11 Remembered: 25 Years Later’ airs Friday, Sept. 11 at 9 p.m. ET on NewsNation. ‘Tribeca 25’ is streaming on Netflix.