Brook Lapping Preps 9/11 Documentary

Brook Lapping, part of Zinc Media Group, has been commissioned by ITV and France Télévisions to make a feature-length documentary to mark the 20th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

The tentatively titled 9/11: We Have Some Planes will feature previously unheard audio and images from that day that tell the personal stories of the people in New York who lived through the events and recorded it. It also shows how the authorities reacted, coped and tried to regain some semblance of control over events, using recordings from military command centers, frontline emergency services, government conference calls, air traffic control, commercial airlines, private phone calls and public broadcasts.

The narrative in the 90-minute doc is driven exclusively by audio and footage from the day, without any interviews. 9/11: We Have Some Planes was commissioned by Tom Giles at ITV and Caroline Behar at France Télévisions. It is exec produced by Greg Sanderson and Karen Edwards for Brook Lapping at Zinc Media Group. It is distributed internationally by BBC Studios.

Greg Sanderson, interim managing director Zinc Television London, said: “Brook Lapping has a history of shining a light on contemporary historical events so that viewers can see them in a new way. Now with access to hundreds of hours of unheard footage and audio, which was previously locked in archives under great security, we can help paint a fuller picture of that historic day. Bringing all this audio content together has been a massive undertaking, but we hope that, in doing so, we are creating an important new record of the events of that historic day.”

Tom Giles, commissioning editor at ITV, adds: “ITV and Brook Lapping worked together memorably on the 10th anniversary with the landmark 9/11: Day That Changed The World. Now, with access to a wealth of new material previously unseen, this film will immerse the viewer in a moment that we still have much to learn about 20 years since it changed the world.”

Caroline Behar, head of International co-productions and acquisitions at France Télévisions adds: “France Télévisions takes part in the most ambitious factual projects on the international market. Brook Lapping have demonstrated their talent to produce high-end contemporary history specials for a broad audience. France Télévisions is proud to be involved in 9/11: We Have Some Planes. Their approach, combining rare audio archives and footage, will certainly shed new and comprehensive light on this defining moment of our times.”