NY1 News Tribeca Film Festival: "Saint of 9/11" The 5th annual TriBeCa Film Festival gets underway with a number of films that are expected to strike an emotional chord, especially with those who lost a loved one on September 11th. NY1's Amanda Farinacci filed this report on the film, "The Saint of 9/11." The image of FDNY chaplain Mychal Judge being carried to St. Peter's Church just moments after his death has become synonymous with the tragedy and heroism of 9/11. A documentary about the beloved minister's life, called "The Saint of 9/11" will debut at the TriBeCa Film Festival nearly five years after his death. "Mychal's words and his life is sort of a positive ray of light that emerges from this very, very dark day. And it's one way to sort of deal with it and wrestle with it and to say that, in life, he touched many people but his death made him world-known," says director Glen Holsten. First hand testimonials tell the story of an often cheerful man, devoted to service and compassion for the poor. He once traveled to Northern Ireland to assist in making peace amid the sectarian violence, and he worked for years with the Gay Men's Health Crisis. A recovering alcoholic, Mychal was openly gay but didn't flaunt it. "I think dealing with Mychal's sexuality is sort of a key to understanding a lot of his ministry, a significant part of his ministry before he was before he was a part of the fire department. He was as much a hero on 9/11 and to the fire department as he was to the men in the wards of St. Luke's hospital here in New York City during the aids crisis," says Holsten. He provided comfort to families of the victims of the crash of TWA Flight 800. Perhaps he shined brightest the day before his death, as he addressed an FDNY memorial service on September 10. "You do what God has called you to do. You show up, put one foot in front of another. You get on the rig, and you go out and do the job – which is a mystery and a surprise – you have no idea when you get on that rig. No matter how big the call, no matter how small, you have no idea what God's calling you to, but he needs you. He needs me. He needs all of us," said Judge. The release of the documentary wasn't planned to coincide with the fifth anniversary of the attacks, but the film's director says the timing couldn't be better and he hopes the film will allow Mychal Judge to once again provide comfort to those in mourning. |