As the 20th anniversary of Sept. 11, 2001 approaches, Generation 9/11 tells the stories of seven children, Megan, Nick, Fares, Ronald Jr., Dina, Claudia and Luke who all lost their fathers that day. The documentary airs Tuesday, Aug. 31 from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. ET on PBS, PBS.org and the PBS Video App. Commissioned by PBS, ARTE France and Channel 4, Generation 9/11 is produced by Arrow Pictures and directed by Liz Mermin.
Generation 9/11 follows the protagonists on their journeys and documents what happened in the 20 years since the attacks. The documentary combines new footage, family photos and home archives. They'll share first days of school, 9/11 anniversaries, discovering how their fathers died and more.
“Our research team spent months identifying all the individual stories,” said John Smithson, creative director for Arrow Pictures. “From there, we focused down on a small cross-section of children whose fathers died on that fateful day, people from all sorts of diverse backgrounds across America and the world beyond to unveil the hidden cost of the tragedy.”
“The world, not just America, was forever changed as a result of 9/11 and its aftermath, and we wanted to explore that ongoing global impact in a direct, personal way,” said Bill Gardner, VP, programming and development, PBS. “These young people and their families have been shaped by 9/11 in a variety of intimate ways, and their openness to sharing their lives allows us to thoughtfully explore the nuances of the 20 eventful years since that terrible day.”
