SEPTEMBER 11, 2001 - NEW YORK CITY.
SEPTEMBER 11, 1973 - SANTIAGO.
The terrorist attacks on the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City forever scarred the trust of the American people. On the same date, 28 years before, the US-supported military overthrow of Chilean President Salvador Allende ushered in 17 years of autocratic rule under dictator Augusto Pinochet, leaving more than 3,000 dead and countless victims of torture.

In the dark and intensely compelling, new animated short film, 9-11/9-11, American conceptual artist Mel Chin creates a tale of two cities… a tragedy of two times, weaving together a story of love and hope wrecked by overt and covert manipulations of power. 9-11/9-11 is presented as part of a global dialogue about the human impact of these collective traumas. The film is an international collaboration between Chin, American filmmaker Chip Schneider, and Chilean animation partners PlanoVisual Estudio de Animación in Santiago, Chile.

The voice cast includes American actress Lili Taylor (State of Mind, I Shot Andy Warhol, Dogfight), well-known Chilean satirist Juan Carlos “Palta” Melendez, and popular Chilean stars Sandro Larenas, and Rosario Zamora
The musical score follows the US/ Chile theme with original music by trumpeter Ben Neill (USA) and Juan Carlos Oyarzún (Chile). Additional music by Godspeed You! Black Emperor and Sigur Rós.

The film premiered on 9-11-2007 with a live videoconference linking Tribeca Cinemas in New York City with the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda in Santiago – a museum at the site of the 1973 military coup. Additional screenings took place the same day in Los Angeles, Chicago, and Houston.

AWARDS & RECOGNITION

In 2008, the Chilean Council of Culture and the Arts awarded 9-11/9-11 the Sienna Award - the “Oscar” of Chile - as Best Animated Short Film. 9-11/9-11 was an official selection of the Cinema and Human Rights in Latin America Film Festival (Cinema e Direitos Humanos na América do Sul), the LA Shorts Fest, the Santa Fe Film Festival, the Santa Barbara International Film Festival, the Valparaiso International Film Festival, the Antofagasta Film Festival, AnimaChile, the Santiago Short Film Festival in Chile, and the Byron Bay Film Festival in Australia.  In 2008, 9-11/9-11 was awarded Best Art Film by the 3rd Annual Southern Appalachian Film Festival and received a special award from FESANCOR, the Festival Chileno Internacional del Cortometraje de Santiago (the Chilean International Short Film Festival of Santiago).  The American Advertising Federation-Houston awarded the 9-11/9-11 trailer with a Gold ADDY® in 2009. 

THE IDEA

When bad things happen, the worst response is to do nothing.  The tragedies of 9-11 in the United States and in Chile did not inspire or spark creativity, but they did compel contemporary artist Mel Chin into action. Making an art film became a means to make sense of the unthinkable. Creating the story became a way to spur a creative, critical investigation of two world events. 

In 2002, under the pen name “Ignacio Moreles,” Mel Chin created the graphic novella 9-11/9-11.  The novella was printed and started appearing, distributed for free, in the streets of New York on 9-11-2002. From the beginning, Chin envisioned the story as a film. It took years to develop a script that captured the spirit of the original work and to create a link with Chilean animation artists willing and able to undertake a complex film, animated by hand.

	OUICK NOTES ON THE FILM • 9-11/9-11 is the first animated film directed by the American conceptual artist Mel Chin. • In 2008, the Chilean Culture and Arts Council awarded 9-11/9-11 the prestigious Pedro Sienna Award (the Chilean “Oscar”) for Best Animated Short Film. • 9-11/9-11 is an international co-production between American artist Mel Chin, American filmmaker Chip Schneider, and Chilean animation artists Plano Visual. • The film is in English and Spanish. Both English and Spanish subtitles are available. • The film is based on the 2002 graphic novella 9-11/9-11 by Mel Chin (under the pen name Ignacio Moreles). • Mr. Chin’s graphic novella was distributed for free on the streets of New York City starting on 9-11-2002. • The film was animated and shaded by hand, using lead pencil. • The voice cast includes American actress Lili Taylor (Six Feet Under, Casa de los Babys, I Shot Andy Warhol, Dogfight, Mystic Pizza). • The voice cast also includes several well-known Chilean actors, including Sandro Larenas, Rosario Zamora, and popular political satirist and impressionist Juan Carlos “Palta” Melendez. • The New York City - Santiago, Chile connection is continued in the film’s original music score. Trumpeter Ben Neill of New York City and Juan Carlos Oyarzún of the Santiago-based electronic duo Souvlaki both contributed to the score. • Additional music in the film includes tracks from internationally important post-rock groups Godspeed You! Black Emperor (Canada) and Sigur Rós (Iceland). • 9-11/9-11 is a work of fiction, but deals dramatically with two important, historical events – the 9/11/1973 military coup in Santiago and the 9/11/2001 terrorist attack in New York City. • 9-11/9-11 will engage individuals who have interests in history, current events, politics, and society. • 9-11/9-11 is a complex work of art, filled with references to other works. The film will be of great interest to art lovers and aficionados. • Animation is frequently a medium for children’s entertainment. However, 9-11/9-11 deals with adult concepts and themes. Its visual style and music will appeal to adults of all ages. • The September 11, 2007 premiere included a live video conference connecting audiences at the Centro Cultural Palacio La Moneda in Santiago and Tribeca Cinemas in New York.

THE STORY

While many would believe that the tragedies of September 11, 1973, and September 11, 2001 are have no connection, 9-11/9-11 weaves them together to tell story of love, hope, family, power, and manipulation.  The events are tied… by time, by people, by places, and by tragedy. 9-11/9-11 is a tale of two cities . . . and a tragedy of two times.

 Here's the story:
It is the morning of September 11, 2001.  Hard-edged, retired American CIA agent “MIke Smith” is recalling his secret past especially his experiences in Chile exactly 28 years before. At the same time, a young Chilean immigrant named Salvador wakes up in the New York apartment of his girlfriend, a bright young artist named Julia.

Mike Smith (not his real name) was an idealist who came to Chile to help get rid of the "commies."  While in Chile, he trained a young pilot, Jorge Montes, and met with the soon-to-be dictator, Augusto Pinochet.  On 9/11/1973, Mike’s trainee, Jorge, flew one of the planes that bombed Palacio La Moneda, the presidential palace in Santiago. The democratically-elected president of Chile, Salvador Allende, died inside the building, perhaps by suicide.  After the coup d’etat, Mike left Chile to continue covert operations in other countries, while his protégé Jorge stayed and became a member of DINA, the Dirección de Inteligencia Nacional, Pinochet's feared secret police.

Mike goes on to help set up CIA training camps in Afghanistan to prepare Taliban "freedom fighters" to battle the Russians.  In the 1980s, he retires to the Midwest, where he gives flying lessons to crop duster pilots.  He hides his past, gets married and has a baby girl.  Father and daughter are close, but as time goes by, the girl becomes an independent, artistic spirit . . . and splits for NYC.

Jorge develops into a powerful and feared agent of Pinochet's DINA in Chile. Once an idealist and hopeful about his country’s future, Jorge’s desire for power transforms him into a monster. He tortures and rapes. One of his victims is a female activist who becomes pregnant after being raped by Jorge. (United Nations’ records document that such events actually occurred.) She gives birth to a boy and names him Salvador, after President Allende.  Later, as a young man, Salvador remembers Jorge as a dark menace named "DINA" . . . a shadow that looms over his youth and his mother's broken spirit.  He can't relate to his mother’s tragic, secret reality. And she will not tell him who his father is.  In search of a better future, Salvador leaves for the United States… and arrives in New York City.

Nicknamed “Chili Dawg” on the streets of NYC, Salvador is homeless for a time, but eventually finds work as a dishwasher at Windows on the World, the famous restaurant at the top of the World Trade Center’s North Tower.  It is there he meets a young waitress, an artist named Julia.

Two young adults – both from broken families, disinterested in politics -- meet in NYC, get drunk on Chilean wine, and become lovers.

9-11-1973 is forgotten.  Then… 9-11-2001 happens.

ANIMATION WITH A HUMAN TOUCH

In these times of spectacular 3D computer animation, it’s becoming increasingly rare to find animated films that are made in the original method – by hand.

Using not much more than pencil and paper, 9-11/9-11 was animated by the artists of Plano Visual Estudio de Animación in Santiago, Chile. A team of approximately 30 artists, led by Art Director Felipe Montecinos and Animation Producer/ Lead Translator Ximena Romero have created a richly detailed visual work. For the film’s visual style, Mel Chin and the animators found inspiration in the intense and complex etchings of the Spanish master Francisco Goya, especially his print series Los Desastres de la Guerra (The Disasters of War). This approach gives 9-11/9-11 a new look, clearly made by hand. It has a visual complexity and spontaneity rarely seen in animation today. The production process was about 16 months. 9-11/9-11 received the prestigious Pedro Sienna (the Oscar of Chile) for Best Animated Short Film in 2008.

The decision to work with animation artists from Chile was inspired by historical events. Recently declassified US government documents verify that the 1973 military coup in Chile was supported by the United States. Henry Kissinger, then National Security Advisor, put the US plan into action under the direction of Richard Nixon. A CIA communiqué from that era stresses that “the American hand” must be “well hidden.” With an American artist, Chilean animators, and an American filmmaker working together on 9-11/9-11, all “hands” can now be revealed.

CONNECTIONS

Mel Chin, creator of 9-11/9-11 says:  “Primarily, this is a love story. I used the construction of a love story as a means to speak of connections between huge events and personal events. The history resides in the background of the film, and then swells forward to engulf the characters. The official governmental stance is that there is no connection between these events. In a fictional film such as 9/11- 9/11, the connections are made and interpreted to the audience.  It is difficult to deal with harsh realities. It is an artist's job to establish conditions so momentary empathy or thoughtful reflection may emerge from the damage. The making of the film is not intended to offend but to provoke curiosity that can transcend the tragedies so we can engage in a discourse that is informed, as opposed to speculative.”