Spirit of New York

A series of documentaries in collaboration with ARTE G.E.I.E
Written by Denis Poncet, Remy Burkel and Agnès Pizzini

Ten years after the terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center, Maha Productions wanted to dedicate a unique series of programs to the Franco-German channel Arte, to celebrate New York’s indomitable spirit and endless energy.

Over six hours of documentaries are to be aired on September 11, 2011, sketching an up-to-the-minute portrait of this extravagant and powerful, alluring yet ruthless metropolis, that derives both its freedom and balance through permanent movement.

New York is a vertical city, and it is this verticality that inspired our approach and our films. From uptown to downtown, from the underground of neighborhoods to the summit of towering buildings, from everyday man to high society: all New Yorkers seem to share a common drive for constant renewal and reinvention.

September 11, 2011 on Arte will thus be a day of total immersion in “The City That Never Sleeps”. Programming will include a 90-minute prime-time special that plunges us into the supercharged daily lives of the kings and queens of NYC; 5 documentaries revealing unique “faces” living in New York’s most iconic neighborhoods; and a 52-minute film on “Gotham”’s perturbed history. The day will be inter-cut with a poignant series of short films in which some of the world’s most important and respected personalities will share both their vivid remembrance of 9/11, and its long-lasting significance in the world today.