Jules Clément Naudet (born Paris, France, April 26, 1973) and Thomas Gédéon Naudet (born Paris, France, March 27, 1970) are French-born American filmmakers. The brothers, residents of the United States since 1989, were in New York City at the time of the September 11 attacks to film a documentary on members of the Engine 7, Ladder 1 firehouse in Lower Manhattan. Jules captured footage of American Airlines Flight 11 hitting the North tower of the World Trade Center. The footage shot in 2001 would become the 2002 documentary, 9/11.[1]
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Jules and Gedeon Naudet moved to New York City with their parents when they were teenagers.[1] Both graduated from the New York University's Tisch School of the Arts in 1995.[1] The Naudet brothers became American citizens in 1999.[1]
Gedeon and Jules released their first film, Hope, Gloves and Redemption in 2000, which centered on young boxers in training in the Bronx and East Harlem. The film included coverage of the 1998 New York Daily News Golden Gloves tournament.
Jules Naudet is married to Jacqueline Longa, with two children.[2]
The Naudet brothers were in the process of making a documentary on New York firefighters, following Antonio "Tony" Benetatos, a rookie firefighter or "probie", through his experiences in New York City Fire Department (FDNY) academy training and into a firehouse.
On the morning of September 11, Jules was taping as firefighters inspected a reported gas leak in Lower Manhattan when American Airlines Flight 11 flew right over him and slammed head-on into the North Tower. Although the plane is not seen in the footage until the impact is about to happen, the distinct sound of the jet's engines can be heard clearly beforehand as well as the firefighter's reaction to it. The Naudet video footage thus became some of the most comprehensive on-site coverage of the 9/11 attacks in New York.
There are two points of view from two cameras shot by both brothers of events occurring at the same time.
Jules went with the FDNY into the North Tower upon them seeing the impact of Flight 11 and responding. He was inside the lobby of the North Tower with the FDNY during most of the event while Gédéon was either in the firehouse with Benetatos (the sole firefighter there for some time) or just below the WTC area among the crowds.
Gédéon's footage also captures the impact of United Airlines Flight 175 into the South Tower while Jules's footage shows the effects of the collapse of the South Tower from inside the lobby of the North Tower.
Along with the video tape of Pavel Hlava, the Naudets' film is the only known footage of Flight 11 striking the World Trade Center. (A series of web camera images from Wolfgang Staehle show the approach of Flight 11 and the after-impact.)
In 2004 came news of a new film project, Seamus, a "coming-of-age" story, with screenplay by the brothers and their 9/11 partner, James Hanlon.
The brothers' latest film project was a documentary entitled In God's Name, exploring current events through the thoughts of 12 spiritual leaders:
It was first broadcast in the United States on December 23, 2007.[3]
A companion book to the film, called In God's Name: Wisdom from the World's Great Spiritual Leaders, was published by National Geographic Books in March 2008.[4]