An intimate and reflective documentary about a former Windows On The World restaurant employee and 9/11 survivor as he returns to the rebuilt World Trade Center site for the first time in 24 years.
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Review by Victoria Angelique:
September 11, 2001 was a day that many people will remember for the rest of their lives, but the impact it had on people that worked in the World Trade Center is a story not heard often enough. BACK TO ONE: RETURN TO GROUND ZERO tells the story of Stephen Lindsay, a man that worked at the Windows of the World restaurant that was 106th and 107th floors in tower one. It has taken Stephen over 20 years to return to New York and the site where the twin towers once stood.
Stephen Lindsay takes the viewer through a journey of his story on that fateful day. He tells stories of his colleagues in a way to make the audience feel like they knew these people. We can feel what a normal work day felt like for Stephen from 1996 to 2001. These weren’t just his co-workers, they were his friends that he looked forward to seeing each shift.
His story shows what PTSD really looks like and what the healing process looks like for someone that not only experienced a tragedy, but knows who the people are beyond names on a memorial. He talks of a boss that encouraged him to follow his dreams of becoming a filmmaker, a friend that liked car shows, and other stories that show the true impact of this tragedy on a person that worked in the towers.
It takes a lot of bravery to return home and reflect, which Stephen Lindsay shows as he walks through the new architecture and speaks with reverence of what used to exist in these spots. This film depicts an important part of the healing process, the ability to return to what was once home and begin to remember fondly the people that he mourned.
