Plot Synopsis

Produced and directed by Spike Lee, NYC EPICENTERS 9/11 - 2021 1/2 is a four-part documentary series that weaves together the stories, memories and insights of those who were eyewitnesses to New York City's greatest challenges -- from 9/11 through June 2021. Lee conducted over 200 interviews for the documentary series which features first-hand accounts from residents of all walks of life, including first responders, politicians and journalists alongside Lee and his own family and friends, complemented by a treasure trove of visual imagery. The quintessential New York filmmaker uses his unique sensibilities to craft a multi-faceted mosaic of the city as it deals with some of the most life-changing events of the last twenty years. Beginning with the ongoing global pandemic and the urgency of the Black Lives Matter movement, Lee traverses through time to the devastating terrorist attacks of 9/11.

As a longtime citizen of Brooklyn, a borough hit particularly hard by the COVID-19 crisis, Lee opens his four-part series with an in-depth chronicle of the pandemic as it ravaged his hometown, speaking with doctors, medical professionals, first responders and family members of victims and hearing emotional, wrenching testimonies. Not simply dwelling on the devastating toll of the disease and the trauma left in its wake, Lee reveals stories of solidarity as New Yorkers come together to support the doctors and nurses in the trenches.

NYC EPICENTERS 9/11 - 2021 1/2 also recounts the demonstrations that took place in New York City in support of the Black Lives Matter movement, and the civil unrest and police brutality that followed, hearing from activists, photojournalists and reporters who witnessed first-hand the violent clashes with the police. Warriors in the Garden, a collective of activists dedicated to nonviolent protest, speak to their efforts to counter systemic oppression and to eliminate race-based discrimination in the midst of a crucible of pent-up anger and frustrations. Looking back at a politically freighted year, the series travels to Washington D.C. to hear first-hand from the New York representatives and others who were in or near the Capitol during the January 6th insurrection. Lee then turns his unique lens from one attack on American democracy to the life-altering events of September 11th, 2001, weaving together a fiercely vivid picture of that day as it unfolded for the New Yorkers on the ground and the first responders who raced to the scene. Detailing the day and the aftermath from many different perspectives, we hear from survivors, family members, firefighters, political leaders and frontline workers who helped with the clean-up, and fire boat and ferry boat captains who participated in the under-reported maritime evacuation, wherein almost half a million people were rescued from the southern tip of Manhattan and shipped to safety.

Lending their opinions and insights to NYC EPICENTERS 9/11 - 2021 1/2 is a chorus of voices that mirrors the diversity of the city itself. Interviewees include Jon Stewart, Rosie Perez, Jeffrey Wright, John Turturro; politicians Chuck Schumer, Bill De Blasio, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, Ron Kim, Mondaire Jones, Stacey Plaskett, Ritchie Torres, Muriel Bowser; medical professionals Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Ian Lipkin, Dr. Fritz Francois; NYFD members; machine operators from Ground Zero; engineers and architects; news anchors and reporters.