One
week after September 11, 2001, San Francisco-based filmmakers
Jay Rosenblatt and Caveh Zahedi asked 150independent filmmakers
to create a short film or video related to the events. Thirteen
of these works are included inUnderground Zero, a feature-length
video that studies the significance of September 11th through
a variety of creative personal and cultural lenses
PROGRAM
NOTES
The
End of Summer - Frazer Bradshaw (3:00)
Maybe we're too grown up?
The Voice of the Prophet - Robert Edwards (7:00)
An interview with Rick Rescorla - a retired Army colonel, veteran
of combat in three wars and head of security for Morgan Stanley
Dean Witter - filmed in his office on the 44th floor of
the World Trade Center in 1998.
China Diary (911) - Eva Brzeski (12:00)
China. September 11, 2001. The filmmaker watches from across the
world as the Twin Towers fall a mile from her home. Her deep connection
to the buildings in New York is shaken as life in China goes on.
Isaiah's
Rap - Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman (3:00)Isaiah's Rap -
Rob Epstein & Jeffrey Friedman (3:00)
A 14-year-old musician and poet responds to the attack on his
TriBeCa neighborhood.
Brief
Encounter with Tibetan Monks - Paul Harrill (5:00)
Seeking peace in a time of world crisis, the filmmaker discovers
that finding examples of non-violence is more complicated than
he anticipated.
Scene
from an Endless War - Norman Cowie (2:00)
An excerpt from a videotape on globalization, militarism and the
"war against terrorism."
The World
is a Classroom - Caveh Zahedi (14:00)
An allegory about the Bush and Bin Laden in each of us.
A Strange
Mourning - David Driver (5:00)
On Friday, Sept. 14, 2001 people gather on a street corner in
Los Angeles, California to mourn the tragic events of the week.
Their fervent display of patriotism reflects the mood gripping
the nation.
21 - Laura Plotkin (3:00)
In the aftermath of 9/11 many violent and racist attacks occurred
through out the USA. 21 chronicles Niomi, a Brooklyn resident
who recalls being brutally accosted ten days after the twin towers
collapsed.
Carefully
Taught - Valerie Soe (4:00)
A short essay responding to the blind patriotic fervor following
Sept. 11, illuminated by Hollywood visions of the American dream.
The World As We Know It - John Haptas & Kristine Samuelson
(4:00)
Smart bombs or not, just war or not, the guilty and innocent alike
are dying-as they always have-in appalling numbers, through the
centuries.
Prayer - Jay Rosenblatt (3:00)
Faith and fear. Duck and cover.
Untitled - Ira Sachs (6:00)
Portraits taken from the fliers posted on the streets of New York
in the days following the events.