LA Premiere of Jorge Valdes-Iga's I WAS THERE Set for 2016 DTLA Film Festival

Fifteen years after 9/11, there are still stories being told about the people impacted by the tragic day that irreversibly changed America and the world forever.

On September 25, Los Angeles filmmaker Jorge Valdés-Iga will see the Los Angeles premiere of his latest film, I Was There, depicting the emotions and anguish of September 11th, and the subsequent years that followed, told through the eyes of a New York City firefighter mistakenly hailed as a hero.

The gripping film tells the story of Gus (played by James A. Lee), a Manhattan firefighter struggling years later with survivor's guilt and alcohol abuse after he escaped the burning towers just before they collapsed.

More than a decade later, Gus is forced into a journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance when his past is abruptly brought to the forefront of his life again after an encounter with a photographer with whom he crossed paths on that catastrophic day.

Valdés-Iga will share his raw cinematic piece at the 2016 DTLA Film Festival in Downtown Los Angeles at 9:45 p.m. at Theater 11 in Regal Cinemas L.A. Live (1000 W. Olympic Blvd.).

The film is part of a series entitled 'American-Latino Filmmakers,' focusing on films by American-born filmmakers of Hispanic-Latino heritage.

Born in La Havana, Cuba, and raised in multiple countries throughout his childhood, Valdés-Iga is a Mexican-American writer, producer, director and cinematographer who represents the perfect embodiment of what Hispanic and Latino culture and heritage offers America through independent film and other artistic works.

I Was There most recently marked its U.S. premiere at the Rhode Island International Film Festival in August. The script was written by Valdés-Iga, Lee and Sinead Daly.

For more information on the film, visit: http://www.iwastherefilm.com/. To purchase tickets, visit www.dtlaff.com.

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