School of Law Professor Marilyn Berger turns filmmaker for latest work on 9/11
Tina Potterf
Marilyn Berger dedicated seven years to the making of the documentary, Out of the Ashes: 9/11.
Marilyn Berger is known for a long and distinguished
career as a law professor. With the release of the new
documentary film, Out of the Ashes: 9/11, she is increasingly
getting a name for herself as a filmmaker.
Berger, who has taught law for 31 years, is the writer,
co-director and executive producer of Out of the Ashes: 9/11,
which examines the legal, moral and ethical
ramifications of the September 11
Victim Compensation Fund. The
Fund was established 11 days after the
terrorist attacks to compensate victims
and their families.
Out of the Ashes is the latest film
by Berger, who is director of the
School of Law's Films for Justice
Institute, which she created in 1995.
Her other cinematic works include
the educational documentaries Lessons
from Woburn: The Untold Stories with
Henry Wigglesworth, The Rules of
Procedure and Conduct and Settlement.
Out of the Ashes tackles issues around
the Fund, including interviews with
affected families and individuals,
lawyers and legal experts, and Kenneth
Feinberg, the Special Master for the
Fund. The documentary was recently
finished and released earlier this year.
...On Sept. 11, 2001, they all got up
that morning, said their goodbyes
and we never saw them again.
—MARILYN BERGER, PROFESSOR, SCHOOL OF LAW
Its genesis began two years after the
terrorist attacks when Berger visited
Ground Zero while in New York City
for a conference. The keynote speaker
at the conference was Feinberg. As
Berger recalls, he "told haunting stories
about 9/11 families, the impact of the
Fund on their lives and its uniqueness
in 9/11 history." Moved by what she
heard, Berger approached Feinberg
about documenting the program and
his work on film. Initially, he was
resistant—it took a year, and many
e-mails and phone calls later, before he
came on board. The support of friends,
family and colleagues was integral in
getting the film made, says Berger, who
also was helped along the way by nearly
two dozen law students, and former
deans and current faculty of the School
of Law.
Nothing could have prepared her
for the filmmaking process ahead.
"It consumed my life for seven
years…," says Berger. "A roller coaster
ride, indeed, but a journey that has
constituted an incredibly momentous
seven years."
The team behind the scenes working
with Berger includes two Emmy
Award winners, co-director Sarah Holt
and cinematographer Erich Roland,
along with narrator Charles Ogletree,
composer and sound specialist Dan
Ring and video editor/graphic designer
Pamela Taylor Waldman.
The documentary showcases seven
families and individuals whose lives
were directly affected by 9/11 and the
Victim Compensation Fund. Those
who are featured came after more than
a year and a half of combing through
names and contacts, plus countless
interviews. Many of the stories Berger
first read about in a New York Times
series on 9/11 victims. "The thing that
united them before 9/11 was that on
Sept. 11, 2001, they all got up that
morning, said their goodbyes and we
never saw them again," Berger says.
There's Felicia Dunn Jones, a civil
rights lawyer whose office was a block
from the World Trade Center. When
the Twin Towers crumbled she ingested
the dust that hailed down on New
York City. Five months later, she died
from sarcoidosis, an inflammation
of the lungs believed to be caused by
inhalation of dust. She was 42 years
old. Another is that of Melodie Homer,
who lost her husband LeRoy, who was
a co-pilot on United Flight 93. The
documentary also includes the challenges
families and partners faced. One such
case is that of Margaret Cruz, who lost
her domestic partner of 18 years, Pat
McAneney, an accountant working in
one of the towers. Cruz had to plead her
case to Feinberg because the couple was
not registered as domestic partners and
McAneney died without a will.
"There was a huge responsibility
that we weren't going to exploit them,"
Berger says. "For a lot of them it was the
first time they opened up and agreed to
do [a project] like this."
The film will be screened and made
available for future use at law schools
and conferences throughout the United
States. The director's take on the final
cut of the film: "Out of the Ashes: 9/11
is an objective piece of documentary
work," says Berger, and a documentary
that allows viewers to come to their
own conclusions about the Victim
Compensation Fund and if justice
was served.
To view a trailer for Out of the Ashes: 9/11
visit www.outoftheashes911.com