The mariners who offered their ships to help evacuate lower Manhattan. The rescue dogs who looked for survivors among the debris. The staff and residents of a homeless shelter who served food and water to fleeing New Yorkers.
These stories of service and heroism — and many more — after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, have been collected into a new documentary by filmmaker and San Diego native Michael Gier, now streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Google TV and Apple TV.
“The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph” uses historic footage, firsthand accounts, reenactments and other documentary footage to focus on the fortitude and perseverance of survivors, family members, first responders and witnesses on that day and for years afterward.
“They want people to remember,” said Gier, who traveled the country doing interviews with a range of eyewitnesses and family members. “After they would sit down and talk with me, I had so many of them tell me afterwards that this really helped them. They said that, ‘It was very therapeutic to just sit here and talk to you about it.’”
The film opens with scenes of everyday New Yorkers – working construction, riding the subway, ordering coffee – before launching into footage from the morning of Sept. 11, 2001, setting a tone for the immense damage to the city’s safety and psyche before moving on to the aftermath of the attack. Among the stories shared in the documentary from ground zero are details about the rescue of Will Jimeno and a few other Port Authority police officers who were nearly crushed to death under the collapsed World Trade Center towers.
Will Jimeno, a Port Authority police officer and a survivor of 9/11, in an interview for “The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph.” (Gier Productions)
Country singer Lee Greenwood tells about the emotional experience of visiting the recovery effort at ground zero to sing his famous song, “God Bless the USA,” to first responders. Several people featured in the documentary share how the events of Sept. 11 led them to work in the nonprofit sector or join the military, including Alex Zablocki, who was a college student trying to get home to Staten Island from Manhattan that day. He went on to serve on the 9/11 Memorial and Museum Visionary Network Leadership Council.
But the film does not just focus on New York City, it includes stories of the response to the attack on the Pentagon and the events surrounding the hijacked Flight 93, which crashed in rural Pennsylvania. Viewers are taken to the various memorials that have been established over the years, explaining how they were designed and how they honor victims and first responders.
Flowers and other items lay at the Flight 93 National Memorial Wall of Names following a ceremony commemorating the 21st anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in Shanksville, Pa., Sunday, Sept. 11, 2022. (AP Photo/Barry Reeger)
The film also features high-level government officials involved with the 9/11 response, such as former White House Chief of Staff Andy Card, former CIA Director Leon Panetta and former Federal Reserve Vice Chairman Roger Ferguson Jr.
Former CIA Director Leon Panetta as seen in the new documentary, “The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11.” (Gier Productions)
“‘The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11’ is the right title, because it’s a film that not only presents the horrible things that happened, but the fact that people responded,” Panetta said in a statement. “As I watched what was happening in New York City, the Pentagon, and that field in Pennsylvania, I saw people dig in and find the courage, and the willingness to do whatever they could to help others.”
Gier, who attended San Diego High School, traces his filmmaking career to getting his start in acting and performing in San Diego at venues such as the Lamb’s Players Theatre. He moved to Los Angeles — where he still resides — in his 20s to make a career in theater performance and TV acting, while also trying his hand at real estate investment, before opening his production company.
Michael Gier, who grew up in San Diego, is the filmmaker behind the new documentary, “The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11.” (Gier Productions)
“It’s almost like I’m living a life, and have been able to accomplish things in my life, that I never dreamed were possible when I was just a young man in San Diego hoping to get to become a singer, dancer, actor someday,” Gier said.
He said he seeks to make positive and uplifting films, and after being approached by executive producer Chris Meek — who was a witness to 9/11 at ground zero — to make a film ahead of the 25th anniversary of the attacks, he knew he wanted to focus on resilience and heroic stories that came out of the events of that day.
“There’ve already been a lot of films done about 9/11 talking about the tragedy,” Gier said. “Nobody’s talked about the positive things that have come from 9/11 despite the tragedy.”
“The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11: From Tragedy to Triumph” is narrated by actor Gary Sinise, who said he thinks the film will help future generations understand the events of Sept. 11.
“I wanted to narrate this film because of the importance of its message,” Sinise said in a statement. “I think it’s very important that we never forget that day, and I think ‘The Heroism and Resiliency of 9/11’ is going to have a great impact.”
FILE – First responders work at ground zero after the Sept.11 attacks, Sept. 12, 2001, in New York. Americans are looking back on the horror and legacy of 9/11, gathering Monday, Sept. 11, 2023, at memorials, firehouses, city halls and elsewhere to observe the 22nd anniversary of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil. (AP Photo/Suzanne Plunkett, File)
The documentary has been featured in and won awards from a range of film festivals and had premieres in Los Angeles on Aug. 26 and New York City on Sept. 8. On Sept. 11, it is being shown at the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library and Museum in Texas.
Gier thinks viewers who watch the documentary will be inspired by what they see.
“You’re going to learn stories you’ve never learned or heard about.”