16 acres: THE SEQUEL
The Story of Downtown
FROM THE PRODUCERS of the critically acclaimed documentary 16 Acres—which told the dramatic inside story of the monumental collision of interests at ground zero in the decade after 9/11—comes an engrossing sequel that contemplates the past, present, and future of the most scrutinized, politicized, and radically transformed urban site in the world.
16 ACRES TRAILER
SEQUEl TEASER
THE STORY
RADIO ROW
1921-1967
THE STORY OF THE 16 ACRES on which the original World Trade Center was built is a tale of not one but two complete destructions—each man-made—and two remarkable rebirths. In order to make way for Minoru Yamasaki’s colossal Twin Towers and their imposing “superblock,” an entire neighborhood teeming with hundreds of electronics shops was reduced to rubble.
RADIO ROW WAS REDUCED TO RUBBLE TO MAKE WAY FOR YAMASAKI’S COLOSSAL TOWERS.
1973-2001
THE TWIN TOWERS
THEY WERE A MARVEL oF DESIGN and engineering ingenuity in their day. Think tube-frames, sky lobbies, viscoelastic dampers. They would become international icons, featured on postcards, in Hollywood movies and advertising campaigns, and symbols of global capitalism. They would attract daredevils like “Man on Wire” and “the Human Fly” intent on conquering them—and terrorists intent on destroying them.
SOME 25,000 PEOPLE RODE EACH TOWER'S 99 ELEVATORS TO 110 STORIES OF OFFICES DAILY.
2002-TODAY
THE REBUILDING
THE STRUGGLE TO REBUILD ground zero after 9/11 has encompassed twenty years, nineteen government agencies, a dozen projects, and more than $30 billion. Politicians, developers, architects, insurance companies, local residents, and relatives of 9/11 victims have all professed a claim to the site—and have often been in conflict with one another.
THE REBUILDING REVEALED THE BEST AND WORST IN HUMANKIND: INGENUITY AND PERSEVERANCE ON ONE HAND, INCOMPETENCE AND OPPORTUNISM ON THE OTHER.
2021 & BEYOND
IMAGINING THE FUTURE
TWO DECADES AFTER 9/11 much of the site master plan has been rebuilt, including the Oculus, the Memorial, and towers 1, 3, and 4—yet much remains in limbo. Looming large are threats such as climate change and storms like Sandy, which caused catastrophic flooding and crippled downtown for months. And then there are threats like the coronavirus pandemic, which has upended the very notion of “public space” and what defines a city.
THE STORY OF THESE 16 ACRES IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPELLING CHAPTERS IN THE HISTORY OF CITIES.
The Producers
MIKE MARCUCCI has been filming all aspects of design, development and construction of the World Trade Center since 2004, and Hudson Yards since 2008. Working in the entertainment industry for over 20 years, Mike has been associated with Troma Films, Universal Pictures, Paramount Television, MTV, VH1, CBS, New Line Cinema, and Merchant Ivory Productions. He has produced videos for Air & Space featuring historical interviews of Apollo astronauts and engineers. In 2012 Mike produced the award-winning documentary 16 Acres. He was a contributing editor on the book A Century Downtown, and is currently developing a sequel to 16 Acres.
MATT KAPP is an award-winning producer and writer based in New York City. His latest book, A Century Downtown, was released by PowerHouse Books in February 2020. Previously, he wrote and co-produced the critically acclaimed documentary 16 Acres, which premiered at the Zurich Film Festival and was released by First Run Features in the spring of 2014. Among his other producing credits are Valentino The Last Emperor, which premiered at the Venice film festival and was one of the highest-grossing documentaries of 2009, and PBS’s The Education of Gore Vidal, which premiered at the Sundance film festival in 2003.
