WTC: The First 24 Hours


Beginning with the North Tower afire and billowing dense smoke, and ending with the vast expanse of ash-brown debris the following morning, WTC: The First 24 Hours documents "ground zero" in the immediate aftermath of the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, September 11, 2001.

The documentary was shot independently over a 24-hour period. It is first a witness to the fall of the twin towers, as a line of fire and a buckle in the armature signal imminent collapse. It is then an intimate view of the smoldering monochromatic site and surrounding solitary streets; the ashen outskirts of New York's financial center, desolate and strewn with debris and the epicenter, a steel moonscape of Dresdenesque remains.

People on the site work monotonously - first in a fervor, then dazed, trance-like. The images speak for themselves, intentionally devoid of commentary and music.



48 mins

Rental - 7 Days $5.00 + tax         Purchase - $19.99 + tax