About the Film
Project Rebirth's Peabody Award winning film, REBIRTH, is a full-length documentary that premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January of 2011. It is the result of a decade-long process by director Jim Whitaker and is a riveting journey into living history. It is also an act of personal witness to one of the most profound events in American history and the healing that has come its wake.
From early 2002 through 2009, the REBIRTH film crew chronicled the lives of five people directly affected by 9/11. The participants include a survivor from an impact floor of the South Tower of the World Trade Center (WTC); a firefighter who survived the collapse of the WTC but lost his best friend; a high school student who lost his mother; a young woman who lost her fiancé; and a construction worker who lost his brother, assisted with recovery efforts, and is presently helping to build the Freedom Tower. Their narratives are the thread of recovery and resiliency from grief, loss and trauma that comprise the unique message of the film.
REBIRTH also simultaneously tracks - via unprecedented multi-camera time-lapse photography - the evolution of the former WTC and the entire rebuilding of the site. Though the film captures the minute-by-minute demolition and redevelopment of the WTC site until 2009, Project Rebirth will continue the time-lapse element of the project until the site is completed in its entirety. Please visit our Time-Lapse Project + Film Archive tab and page to learn more about this important element of our project. Philip Glass composed REBIRTH original score.
To learn more about REBIRTH, Project Rebirth, and organizing a community screening, please contact us by phone at 212.346.1482 or by email at caitlin.olson@projectrebirth.org.
Guide for Conversation and Getting Involved
Trailer
Latest postings about The Film
'Rebirth' is awarded a Peabody Award
April 9, 2012 - We are pleased to announce that with the support of Showtime, our television broadcast partner, REBIRTH was selected for a... More
10-Year Anniversary of Project Rebirth Vision + Camera Installation
March 12, 2012 - March 11th marked the incredible 10-year anniversary of the installation of our cameras at the World Trade Center Site and... More
'Rebirth' to be featured in the 2012 American Film Showcase
February 29, 2012 - We are pleased to announce that REBIRTH has been selected to be a part of the American Film Showcase, an... More
IMPACT: Project Rebirth's Dr. Donna Gaffney
December 20, 2011 - The third audio program of our IMPACT series features Project Rebirth's Research and Education Advisor, Dr. Donna Gaffney. Please click... More
IMPACT: Project Rebirth's Time-Lapse Cameras
November 21, 2011 - In our second YouTube IMPACT update about Project Rebirth, Executive Director Caitlin Olson talks about this unique element of our... More