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Just 2 weeks after our wedding, 20 years ago, the World as we knew it ended

Cari and I were married on August 24th, 2001. We would never have imagined that a bunch of cowardly thugs with sick brains would turn our world upside down less than 2 weeks after our honey moon.

Together with our friend – the late Franz Harland -, Cari and I documented the events of September 11 and its immediate aftermath in a short film. It was meant to be a time capsule for the emotions of the time immediately after the events. We used our own film footage, capturing observers shouting in anguish as the towers collapse, and radio announcers narrating the events in real time. The words “all airports across the country, every airport in the United States has been shut down” still ring in my ears, and the images of the tired eyes of first responders have burned themselves into my memory. 

20 years later, this movie still elicits a strong emotional response in me, it transports me back to  the moment I learned that a plane had crashed into the WTC, seeing the smoke over New York and experiencing the mourning. 

I have never widely shared this video, and it seems appropriate to do so now on the 20th anniversary.

The We-Film-It Team: Caridad Branagan Kolb, Hartmuth Kolb, Franz Harland (Herunter)