September 11

Eleven directors from eleven countries each contribute an eleven-minute short reflecting on the events of 11 September 2001: A village teacher in Iran tries to explain to her young students what's happened; city kids in Burkina Faso think they've spotted Osama bin Laden; a deaf Frenchwoman in Manhattan writes a Dear John letter to a man who left that morning for work at the World Trade Center; a Chilean remembers Allende; events recall other deaths; a mother endures more than her son's death. Tones vary, as do the locales. Most concern coming to terms with the events of the day, but at least one confronts the viewer with tragedy and death.

Directed by Samira Makhmalbaf, Amos Gitai, Shōhei Imamura, Ken Loach, Idrissa Ouedraogo, Mira Nair, Sean Penn, Alejandro G. Iñárritu, Danis Tanović, Youssef Chahine, Claude Lelouch, September 11 leans on a strong ensemble — Ernest Borgnine, Maryam Karimi, Emmanuelle Laborit — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 2002.