EXCLUSIVE: On September 11, the nation will mark the 25th anniversary of the terrorist attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, a devastating event seared into the memory of all Americans who lived through it.
The effort to rebuild lower Manhattan gave birth to the Tribeca Festival and it is at Tribeca that IX XI will premiere, a documentary directed by Sean Wilsey that tells a dozen personal stories “through deeply intimate conversations with New Yorkers from multiple facets of the city.” Some of those who share their stories are well known, like New Yorker cartoonist Roz Chast and actor Griffin Dunne; others are immigrants who made New York their home, like restaurateur Amadeus Broger, former EF Hutton employee Irma Ellis, and dancer Kevin Langford.
“Each vividly recounts their own story at the instant of being pulled together by a world historical event,” notes a synopsis. “These interviews are complimented by previously unseen archival material, and film footage that evokes interviewees’ internal states, and makes reference to the image bank we all draw from as a cinematic culture.”
We have your first look at the documentary in the trailer above.
The Tribute in Light is illuminated above the skyline of lower Manhattan and One World Trade Center in New York City on September 10, 2025.
Gary Hershorn/Getty Images
“No event has had a greater impact on New York City than 9/11,” Wilsey tells Deadline in a statement. “But for the millions of people who witnessed the tragedy that memory is fading—and there is now a generation of adults with only secondhand knowledge. IX XI exists to bring back the emotional immediacy of that day. The group of twelve people in the film, through the diversity of their perspectives, communicate straight from the heart across cultural, political, and class divides, and bring back that most significant day in New York City’s history with intimacy and new insight.”
IX XI is directed Sean Wilsey and produced by Krista Parris and Sean Wilsey. The executive producer is Paula Grant Berry. Editors are Zara Serabian Arthur, Autie Carlisle, Nic Seago, Liam Walsh, Tristan Daley, KD Davison, and John Allen. Cinematography is by Autie Carlisle, Ethan Palmer, and Kurt Vincent; music is by Milena Erke, Randall Poster, and Mira Wilsey.
The film premieres Thursday in the Spotlight Documentary section of Tribeca Festival, with additional screenings on Friday and Saturday, and on Sunday, June 14. It’s an acquisition title, with Visit Films handling sales.
Tribeca Festival Director Cara Cusumano writes in the festival program, “While there are numerous documented heroes and feats of human bravery on 9/11, IX XI highlights the mundanity of life leading up to this day, as well as the uniqueness of how each person experienced this tragedy. Wilsey shapes his documentary with the use of archival and cinematic footage, complimenting the notion that traumatic events can connect human beings in unexpected ways. IX XI encourages an open conversation about the continued impact of this event.”
Watch the trailer for IX XI above.
