'Behind The Lens': Local Photojournalists Reflect On 9/11 In New Documentary

Though it has been seven years since the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, memories of the tragedy are still fresh in our minds. Even more everlasting are the photographs from that fateful day, illustrating faces stricken with terror and fear.

But what of the photographers who arrived on scene to capture the unfolding disaster as others were running away from it?

Behind the Lens: Covering 9/11 is a new documentary that tells the story of four photojournalists who, along with firemen, police officers and fellow journalists, risked their lives to show the world images of a crisis. The film premiered last night, September 10 at 6pm at the New Filmmakers Film Festival.

Featured in the documentary are photographers Don Halasy and Bolivar Arellano of The New York Post, and David Handschuh and Todd Maisel of The New York Daily News. Both publications are major daily newspapers in New York City.

"Bringing never before seen video from Ground Zero and coupled with in-depth interviews from photojournalists, the audience is given a behind the scenes view into the unique world of gathering news in a crisis. We learn the intimate details of what these photojournalists endured to cover this atrocity; from being buried alive to lensing photos that continue to create controversy and now sit in the Library of Congress"states Covering911.com.

"From a cleanup worker who believes he’s found a survivor to a fireman’s widow burying her husband to an FBI technician separating bones from rubble," according to the film's description, this documentary goes beyond what happened on September 11. It also emphasizes the emotional toll victims, families and these photographers had to endure. And those kinds of wounds don't heal quickly

For information about the screening, visit covering911.com/news.htm.