A Wide Audience Can Now Watch Five Days on the Pile, an Inspiring Story of Selflessness, and an Official Selection at Multiple Film Fests
5 Days on The Pile, an award-winning documentary chronicling the selfless rescue efforts of two ordinary citizens immediately after the 9/11 towers collapse, can now be viewed on Amazon. (Link to trailer.)
Already an award-winner (including 1st place in the 2024 NY Shorts competition) 5 Days on The Pile tells the story of two heroic volunteers – NYC Steamfitters Chris Wagner and Ralph “Red” Andersen – who rushed into the chaos of the WTC collapses, along with other volunteers.
Chris Wagner and Red Andersen had the rare skills that rescuers needed, and fast: The steamfitters were experts in the use of gas welding torches, tools powerful enough to cut the heavy steel that trapped victims and victims’ bodies.
Cleverly navigating NYPD’s perimeter with “street smarts,” Chris Wagner and Red Andersen made their way over five days through closed roads and collapsed buildings, to lend aid in the utter chaos. They helped in the grim task of removing and hand-transporting victim’s bodies and digging out the deceased.
The film features heartrending never-before-seen photos and stories from The Pile after the 9/11 attack, while detailing the price volunteers paid with their physical and mental health. For the filmmaker Paul Wagner and for Chris Wagner, the film is personal; they had friends and relatives who perished in the Towers.
Film Festival Notice of 5 Days on the Pile
- First place in the 2024 NY Shorts
- Official Selection Independent Film Fest Boston
- Official Selection RED Movie Awards
- Official Selection, and nominated for Best First-Time Director’s Award, Los Angeles International Short Film Fest
About the Film’s Creator & Director
A four-time Emmy Award winner, Paul Wagner is the film’s creator and director. Wagner has been covering murder mysteries, cold cases, and news-making events in Washington, DC since 1981. Wagner spent 11 years with WTOP NewsRadio, and 21 years with WTTG Fox 5. He now works at NBC's WRC-TV. Wagner has also written, produced, and voiced three widely admired podcast series on notable murder cases: "The Mystery on Swann Street," "Murder in a Safe Place," and "Unknown Subject."
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20250122877643/en/
Contacts
Media contact and for addition still photos:
John D. Wagner
jdwagner@wagnerpr.com
