First Run Acquires World Trade Center Documentary 16 ACRES
The critically acclaimed new documentary on the politics and drama behind the World Trade Center rebuilding project, 16 ACRES, has been picked up for North American distribution by New York-based First Run Features. The film premiered at the Zurich Film Festival in September 2012, followed by a North American premiere at the Architecture and Design Film Festival in New York in October. It has played more than a dozen film festivals worldwide since and recently won an Audience Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival.
The rebuilding of ground zero is one of the most architecturally, politically, and emotionally complex urban renewal projects in American history. From the beginning, the effort has been fraught with controversy, delays and politics. The struggle has encompassed more than a decade, 19 government agencies, a dozen projects and over $20 billion. "It's stating the obvious to say that 16 ACRES is one of the most important documentaries of recent years," said First Run's Vice President, Marc Mauceri. "Who would have thought a film about developers, politicians, and architects fighting over the design and development of a hallowed site could be so gripping? We're proud to be working with the 16 ACRES team in bringing the film to audiences in North America."As with all great urban projects, from the Pyramids to Rome's Coliseum to Rockefeller Center, a small group of powerful people will dictate the outcome. Who are they and what motivates them? "Our core creative approach was to tell the story fundamentally as a first-person narrative - without any narration - told by the key players themselves," said director/editor Richard Hankin (director, producer, writer,Home Front, co-producer, editor, Capturing the Friedmans). "Many of them are true New York characters, and in many ways it's a quintessentially New York story."
