Jules and Gédéon Naudet

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Gédéon and Jules Naudet with their Peabody Award for 9/11 (2003)

Jules Clément Naudet (born April 26, 1973 in Paris ) and Thomas Gédéon Naudet (born March 27, 1970 in Paris) are two French filmmakers . The brothers achieved worldwide fame for their film material, which was shot during the terrorist attacks on September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center in New York .

Life

The two brothers, born in Paris, moved from France to the United States in 1989 , where they began studying film together at the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University (NYU), also known as the NYU Film School .

Jules Naudet is married and has two children.

Work

First documentaries

After graduating in 1995, several award-winning films followed, in which Jules and Gédéon Naudet always focused on "ordinary people" who achieved "unusual things". These also counts Hope, Gloves and Redemption (1999), in which the French, the New York couple Mickey and Negra Rosario portrayed that as a boxing instructor at Thomas Jefferson Recreation Center in Spanish Harlem operate. The film documentary filmed on video earned the Naudets, among other things, the prize for best documentary at the New York International Independent Film & Video Festival in the summer of 2000 .

In the summer of 2001, the Naudets were working on a report on training with the New York professional fire department . For their project, the two brothers chose the fire service recruit Tony Benetatos as the main character, whose path from "boy to man" they wanted to follow in a long-term film study. Benetatos was assigned to the Manhattan Guard at Ladder 1 (100 Duane Street); For three months, the Naudets participated in the lives of the firefighters stationed there and accompanied smaller missions. They had also received the filming permit through their friendship with actor and ladder 1 firefighter James Hanlon. The project was the first documentary about the New York Fire Department in 27 years.

The recordings on September 11, 2001

On the morning of September 11, 2001, Jules Naudet accompanied a fire brigade, led by Chief Joseph W. Pfeifer, to a gas odor alarm at the intersection of Lispenard Street and Church Street, near the World Trade Center (WTC). He should familiarize himself with the camera work that morning. During the search work by the fire fighting team to find the cause of the gas smell, the group heard loud aircraft noises. Jules Naudet then managed at 8:46 a.m. to capture the overflight and the impact of the first passenger aircraft in the north tower on film. Then he accompanied the firefighters to the World Trade Center with his camera and also documented the joint escape from the collapsing north tower. Meanwhile, Jules' brother Gédéon, who had stayed on guard, set off with another fire fighting group to the scene of the accident. With his camera he documented the second impact in the south tower of the World Trade Center, the collapse of the buildings from the outside and the panic on the streets.

Both the Naudets and the firefighters of ladder 1 who were involved in the operation survived the terrorist attacks. Although the media offered several million US dollars for the rights to the footage, the two brothers sold only a few images to a French agency to cover the costs of the film project, including the footage of the first impact on the north tower of the World Trade centers. Over the next few days, the Naudets documented the clean-up work at Ground Zero and signed a contract with the US television company CBS . They then shortened the 180-hour long footage in collaboration with director Rob Klug and fireman James Hanlon to a length of just under two hours. The film was broadcast on March 11, 2002, six months after the attacks, under the title 9/11 (German title September 11th - The last hours in the World Trade Center ) by CBS on American television, reached 40 million People and was honored with two Emmys and the Prize of the Writers Guild of America . The Naudets had voted in advance for the free broadcast of their documentary and were working on further dubbed versions after the initial release. One year after the terrorist attacks, on September 11, 2002, the film was shown in 142 countries, including Germany and, through the Al-Jazeera television station , in the Arab region.

Although the Naudets made the proceeds of 9/11 available to the New York Firefighters' Association , which takes care of the financial and social security of the bereaved, their financial situation changed suddenly. For example, the NDR , which had shown itself to be responsible for the first broadcast of the documentary in Germany, offered the two brothers to help finance their next two films, regardless of the topic. Seamus , a project about young adolescents planned for 2004 that the Naudets planned together with James Hanlon, was never realized.

More work

After the success of 9/11 , the Naudets only showed themselves to be responsible for a documentary again in 2006 with September 11th - Five Years Later. In the same year they sued the film production company Louder than Words , which had incorporated footage of the Naudets from September 11, 2001 in the film Loose Change without permission .

In 2007 they both completed the project In God's Name as director and producer , for which they recorded over 180 hours of film material. In the film, twelve influential religious leaders from Egypt , England , India , Israel , Japan , Lebanon , Russia , Vatican City and the United States comment on timely questions, including the events of September 11, 2001. The documentary with well-known interview -Partners like Alexius II (head of the Russian Orthodox Church ), Amritanandamayi (Indian guru), Pope Benedict XVI. and Islamic dignitary Muhammad Sayyid Tantawi aired prime time on CBS in late December 2007 . In 2008, In God's Name brought the brothers, among other things, the American Wilbur Award , which is awarded for outstanding media work with religious questions, topics and values.

Filmography (selection)

Awards

  • 2008, Wilbur Award : Best TV Documentary for In God's Name
  • 2003, Satellite Award (Emmy): Special Humanitarian DVD Award for September 11th - The Last Hours in the World Trade Center
  • 2002: Best Documentary , nominated in the Best Camera category for a documentary for September 11th - The Last Hours in the World Trade Center
  • 2002, German Television Award : Best International Program for September 11th - The Last Hours in the World Trade Center
  • 2000, New York International Independent Film & Video Festival : Grand Jury Prize for Best Documentary for Hope, Gloves and Redemption

Book publication

Web links

Commons : Jules Naudet  - collection of images, videos and audio files
Commons : Gédéon Naudet  - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Russ Mitchell: Filmmakers Gedeon and Jules Naudet and James Hanlon discuss their documentary "9/11" . CBS News Transcripts (The Saturday Early Show 7:00 AM EST CBS) September 9, 2006
  2. ↑ a b Kathrin Wilkens: "He was in the Tower" . In: The world . September 4, 2002, p. 30 (media).
  3. ↑ a b Helmut Ziegler: The eyes full of tears . In: Berliner Zeitung , September 11, 2002, media
  4. ↑ a b c Christiane Kögel: The Trial by Fire . In: Süddeutsche Zeitung , September 4, 2002, Medien, p. 21
  5. ↑ Ian Mohr: Bigel spins off for his own movie, TV shingle . In: Daily Variety , November 12, 2004, News, p. 4
  6. ^ Nancy Jo Sales: Click Here For Conspiracy . In: Vanity Fair , August 2006, ed. 552, p. 112
  7. ↑ Kathy Blumenstock: A Medley of Faiths, United in Spirit . In: The Washington Post , December 23, 2007, p. 5
  8. ^ Religion Communicators Council Announces Wilbur Award Winners . US Newswire, March 17, 2008 at 1:45 PM EST