9/11 Firefighter-Filmmaker to West Coast for Two New Documentaries

Wilmington, DE (PRWEB) October 10, 2005

Ground Zero Filmmaker and Firefighter, Lou Angeli, takes leave of his home on the East coast to begin production on two new documentary projects in Los Angeles. First off is “When All Else Fails!” a documentary dealing with emergency response during times of disaster. The theme is important as ever given recent events in New Orleans and the Gulf coast.

Angeli’s second digital film project entitled “Angels on Liberty Street” is a docu-drama that tells the story of how a heavenly battalion responded to assist New York’s first responders following the collapse of the twin towers on September 11th. The doc incorporates newly released footage from Ground Zero along with illustrations and commentary from experts and individuals who were part of the unique spiritual experience in lower Manhattan five years ago.

Angeli, and his producing partner, Bunny Dubin, are best known for their recently released feature length documentary, “Answering The Call: Ground Zero’s Volunteers,” The story is told by Kathleen Turner, who along with Dubin and Angeli, were Ground Zero volunteers. The film goes to market at MIPCOM in Cannes in mid-October, followed by Santa Monica’s American Film Market in early November.

Angeli, who has documented nearly every major US disaster since 1989, plans to draw from his archives to help illustrate “When All Else Fails!” The message Angeli says is designed to inform, providing viewers with a working checklist that will allow them to prepare for future catastrophic events. But Angeli and writer Alison Kagamaster won’t be looking to FEMA to serve as consultants to the film. Instead, the team will interview ordinary citizens nationwide, who have chosen to take responsibility for their own safety during major emergencies.

“These folks are the new breed of first responder,” Angeli says. “They understand that there’s no guarantee that professional responders will reach them during the early days of a serious disaster. We saw that in New Orleans…and it will happen again.”

In “Angels on Liberty Street” the production team goes where other 9/11 documentaries have not yet gone -- the spiritual realm -- with a highly unusual take on the attacks of September 11th. Of the 40,000 professionals and volunteers who responded to Ground Zero, nearly all refer to their work as spiritual, and many attribute their personal safety to the presence of and army of angels.

“After the towers fell, there were angels who guided those who were trapped to safety,” says show writer Kagamaster. “The stories are told by those who witnessed angels racing to the scene to install a safety net for the rescuers of the fallen.” Even though the World Trade Center disaster site was referred to as the most dangerous place on Earth, incredibly there were no fatalities or serious injuries among rescuers and recovery teams.

Production for both projects begins in mid October with location shooting taking place on both coasts. Post-production will take place in Los Angeles with a distributors' preview date of April 2006.

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