Boatlift 9/11 Premieres on Great American Pure Flix

Great American Media will stream its original short film Boatlift 9/11 exclusively on Great American Pure Flix beginning September 10, coinciding with the 25th anniversary of September 11. The award-winning film centers on the civilian maritime response that evacuated approximately 500,000 people from Lower Manhattan. More than 100 vessels joined the effort, which the company describes as the largest maritime evacuation in history. The production is presented by Suzanne DeLaurentiis Productions and the Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation.

A Story From The Waterfront

When transportation out of Lower Manhattan shut down on September 11, 2001, ferries, tugboats, fishing boats and private vessels moved toward people gathered along the waterfront. Inspired by Jessica DuLong’s Saved at the Seawall, Boatlift 9/11 follows Captain Jan and her daughter Britt aboard their tugboat in New York Harbor.

The film depicts the pair traveling toward Battery Park, where survivors are stranded along the seawall. After Britt is swept into the river while trying to save another passenger, Jan must choose between searching for her daughter and transporting the people already aboard to safety. The two eventually reunite and turn back toward Manhattan as the call goes out for “all available boats.”

Bill Abbott, President & CEO at Great American Media, said:

“I was in my office in New York, looking right down Sixth Avenue at an unimaginable tragedy as the second plane flew into the South Tower of the World Trade Center on September 11. Twenty-five years later, what remains equally vivid is what Americans did next. People ran toward the Towers to help people they did not know. Boatlift 9/11 tells one of the remarkable stories from that day, when hundreds of thousands of people found a way out of New York's lower west side because others chose to come for them, by boat. It is a story we are honored to be a part of producing and presenting on our platforms,”

Cast And Recognition

Swedish actress Sofia Helin stars as Jan, with Preslea Elliott as Britt and Hank Northrop as Eric. Dale Fabrigar directed the film, which was written by Tricia Aurand and produced by Suzanne DeLaurentiis, Nathan Samdahl, Fabrigar, Nicole Menendez, David Courtice and Christopher Dukes.

The Independent Shorts Awards International Film Festival named Boatlift 9/11 Best Short of the Season for June and July 2026. The production also advanced to the festival’s 2026 Annual Awards with nominations for Best Drama Short, Best Male Director for Fabrigar, Best Supporting Actress for Elliott, Best Editing for Radu Ion and Best Original Score for Oliver Goodwill. The Annual Awards showcase will take place September 19 at Regal LA Live in Los Angeles.

Suzanne DeLaurentiis, producer of Boatlift 9/11, said:

“Twenty-five years is an important threshold. There is now a generation of Americans who did not experience September 11 firsthand, and the responsibility to preserve these stories becomes greater with time. I wanted Boatlift 9/11 to remember the people who saw strangers in desperate need and simply went to get them. Half a million people made it off Manhattan by water that day. That extraordinary act of humanity deserves its place in our national memory,”

Remembering The Boatlift

The film’s release draws attention to the mariners and civilians who responded on the waterfront, as well as the lasting health consequences for people exposed to toxic debris following the attacks. It also highlights the continuing need to support September 11 survivors.

For information on kidney awareness and the Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation, the organization directs visitors to MNITF.org.