9/11: Reclaiming Ground Zero

Primary (1960)

Primary is a documentary film about the primary elections between John F. Kennedy and Hubert Humphrey in 1960. Primary is the first documentary to use light equipment in order to follow their subjects in a more intimate filmmaking style. This unconventional way of filming created a new look for documentary films where the camera’s lens was right in the middle of what ever drama was occurring. Preserved by the Academy Film Archive in partnership with The Film Foundation in 1998.

• Documentary

This is How the Obelisk Was Born (1936)

The construction of the Obelisco in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

• Documentary

Koenig's Sphere (2002)

Adlon recounts the making of the sculpture, "Kugelkaryatide" the sphere that stood in the center of Tobin Plaza between the two towers of the World Trade Center. The film follows the sculpture from its creation as the largest bronze sculpture of recent times to the aftermath, where it now stands, heavily scarred, in Battery Park.

• Documentary

The Rise & Fall of Penn Station (2004)

In 1910, the Pennsylvania Railroad successfully accomplished the enormous engineering feat of building tunnels under New York City's Hudson and East Rivers, connecting the railroad to New York and New England, knitting together the entire eastern half of the United States. The tunnels terminated in what was one of the greatest architectural achievements of its time, Pennsylvania Station. Penn Station covered nearly eight acres, extended two city blocks, and housed one of the largest public spaces in the world. But just 53 years after the station’s opening, the monumental building that was supposed to last forever, to herald and represent the American Empire, was slated to be destroyed.

• History
• Documentary

Nas: Time Is Illmatic (2014)

Time Is Illmatic is a feature length documentary film that delves deep into the making of Nas' 1994 debut album, Illmatic, and the social conditions that influenced its creation.

• Documentary
• Music

Shine a Light (2008)

Martin Scorsese’s electrifying concert documentary captures The Rolling Stones live at New York’s Beacon Theatre during their A Bigger Bang tour. Filmed over two nights in 2006 with an all-star team of cinematographers, the film combines dynamic performances with archival footage and rare glimpses behind the scenes, offering a vibrant portrait of the band’s enduring energy and legacy.

• Documentary
• Music

Die Menschenfischer (2004)

• Documentary

Banned! in America VI (2003)

Banned VI is the newest installment in the best-selling shock series in history! Too soon? Some are still squeamish about showing footage of the tragic events of 9/11/2001, but not us! This sixth and FINAL installment contains exclusive, never-before-seen footage from that day, plus a lot more from the gory decade of 2000! THE DAY THE WORLD CAME DOWN!

• Documentary
• Horror

The Take (2004)

In suburban Buenos Aires, thirty unemployed ceramics workers walk into their idle factory, roll out sleeping mats and refuse to leave. All they want is to re-start the silent machines. But this simple act - the take - has the power to turn the globalization debate on its head. Armed only with slingshots and an abiding faith in shop-floor democracy, the workers face off against the bosses, bankers and a whole system that sees their beloved factories as nothing more than scrap metal for sale.

• Documentary

Trade Center (2021)

The voices of five gay men who cruised for sex at the World Trade Center in the 1980s and 1990s haunt the sanitized, commerce-driven landscape that is the newly rebuilt Freedom Tower campus.

• Documentary

Raoul's, a New York Story (2025)

A unique portrait of New York's iconic Raoul's Restaurant - told through the eyes of a filmmaker-turned-accidental-restaurateur who was trying to make a film about his father who is also a filmmaker-turned-accidental-restaurateur.

• Documentary

Adam Sandler: Funny Guy (2020)

Adam remains a consistent favorite among fans who are comforted that they will always have a good time. Get the inside story on this fascinating actor, comedian, screenwriter, producer, husband, father, and forever FUNNY GUY.

• Documentary
• Comedy

Disintegration Loop 1.1 (2001)

Disintegration Loop 1.1 consists of one static shot of lower Manhattan billowing smoke during the last hour of daylight on September 11th, 2001, set to the decaying pastoral tape loop Basinski had recorded in August, 2001. Shot from Basinski's roof in Williamsburg Brooklyn, this is an actual documentary of how he and his neighbors witnessed the end of that fateful day. It is a tragically beautiful cinema verite elegy dedicated to those who perished in the atrocities of September 11th, 2001.

• Documentary
• Music
• History
• War
• Crime

Forman vs. Forman (2019)

A moving account, in his own words, of the personal life and work of the brilliant Czech filmmaker Miloš Forman (1932-2018): his tragic childhood, his major contribution to the cultural movement known as the Czech New Wave, his exile in Paris, his troubled days in New York, his rise to stardom in Hollywood; a complete existence in the service of cinema.

• Documentary

Brief Tender Light (2024)

At America's elite MIT, a Ghanaian alum follows four African students as they strive to graduate and become agents of change for their home countries Nigeria, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe. Over an intimate, nearly decade-long journey, all must decide how much of America to absorb, how much of Africa to hold on to, and how to reconcile teenage ideals with the truths they discover about the world and themselves.

• Documentary

Sex, Love, Misery: New New York (2022)

Swiping. Dating. Ghosting. Have you wondered what was really going on in your date's head? "Sex, Love, Misery" reveals candid thoughts and encounters between diverse singles looking to mingle or marry, from initial texts to hook ups and beyond.

• Documentary
• Comedy

Night Lunch (1975)

This is Poe and Král's first effort, shot on small-gauge stock, before their more well-known endeavor The Blank Generation (1976) came to be. A "DIY" portrait of the New York music scene, the film is a patchwork of footage of numerous rock acts performing live, at venues like Madison Square Garden, Radio City Music Hall, the dive bars of Greenwich Village and, of course, CBGB.

• Music
• Documentary

Liberty: Mother of Exiles (2019)

A look at the history of the Statue of Liberty and the meaning of sculptor Auguste Bartholdi's creation to people around the world.

• Documentary
• History

Bowery (2022)

A compelling portrait of New Yorkers living on the streets as they struggle with mental health, addiction, and the onset of a global pandemic. This powerful documentary offers an unfiltered, at times mesmerizing glimpse into life on the margins, drawing viewers into the raw, human stories behind a deepening crisis.

• Documentary

Joshua: Teenager vs. Superpower (2017)

When the Chinese Communist Party backtracks on its promise of autonomy to Hong Kong, teenager Joshua Wong decides to save his city. Rallying thousands of kids to skip school and occupy the streets, Joshua becomes an unlikely leader in Hong Kong and one of China’s most notorious dissidents.

• Documentary