Programme Overview
Description
Surviving 9/11: A 25-Year Anniversary Special is a powerful, deeply personal documentary that marks events that changed the course of modern history.
Directed by BAFTA-winning director Arthur Cary, the film tells two interconnected stories. The first: a gripping, real-time retelling of the two-hour period when four planes were hijacked and three crashed into the Twin Towers and the Pentagon. The second: the lasting impact on survivors and loved ones, as they continue to grapple with grief, resilience, and legacy in the years following these tragic events.
Blending powerful first-person testimony from American and British contributors with evocative personal and public archives, Surviving 9/11: A 25-Year Anniversary Special offers visceral, detailed storytelling that captures the chaos and heroism of the day. Intercut with contemporary reflections, the film explores how individual lives were forever altered—and how that moment continues to echo around the world.
A story both epic and intimate, Surviving 9/11: A 25-Year Anniversary Special is not only a film about what happened on that day, but about the people who have lived with its impact ever since.
Commissioned as a flagship programme by the BBC in 2021, the original documentary was acquired in over 20 countries, including the United States, Australia, France, Germany, Brazil, Canada, and Israel—underscoring its powerful global relevance.
To mark the 25th anniversary in 2026, this award-winning documentary has been updated to ensure its continuing global relevance to international audiences. Surviving 9/11: A 25-Year Anniversary Special is available to screen and buy now.