Powerful Film Tells Little-Known Story of Largest Maritime Evacuation in History, Extraordinary Civilian Armada Carried 500,000 People to Safety

Boatlift 9/11 Named Best Short of the Season by Independent Shorts Awards

NEW YORK, Sept. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Great American Media commemorates the 25^th anniversary of September 11 with the World Television Premiere of Original Film, Boatlift 9/11 (Boatlift 9/11), the award-winning short honoring the extraordinary mariners and ordinary citizens who answered an urgent call for help as Lower Manhattan came under attack. The film streams exclusively on Great American Pure Flix, beginning September 10.

Twenty-five years after September 11, 2001, much of America knows the images and stories that have come to define that terrible day. Less widely known is what happened along the waterfront. As transportation out of Lower Manhattan shut down and thousands of people reached the water with nowhere else to go, ferries, tugboats, fishing boats and private vessels began moving toward them. More than 100 vessels ultimately joined the effort helping evacuate approximately 500,000 people in what became the largest maritime evacuation in history.

Inspired by Jessica DuLong’s Saved at the Seawall, Boatlift 9/11 tells that history through Captain Jan and her daughter Britt, who are aboard their tugboat in New York Harbor when the first planes strike the World Trade Center. They race toward Battery Park, where survivors are stranded along the seawall. Their tug was never meant to carry crowds, but the pair begins pulling people aboard as smoke and ash consumed the waterfront. When Britt is swept into the river while trying to save another passenger, Jan faces an agonizing choice between searching for her daughter and getting those already aboard to safety. Jan and Britt eventually reunite and turn back toward Manhattan as the call goes out for “all available boats.”

“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,” said Bill Abbott, President & CEO, Great American Media. “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,” Abbott concluded.

The film stars internationally acclaimed Swedish actress Sofia Helin (The Bridge, Atlantic Crossing) as Jan, with Preslea Elliott (Killers of the Flower Moon) as Britt and Hank Northrop (“Days of Our Lives,” “Criminal Minds”) as Eric. The film is directed by Dale Fabrigar. Written by Tricia Aurand. Produced by Suzanne DeLaurentiis, Nathan Samdahl, Dale Fabrigar, Nicole Menendez, David Courtice, and Christopher Dukes.

For producer Suzanne DeLaurentiis, Boatlift 9/11 is both a work of historical remembrance and an effort to preserve a part of September 11 history that many Americans have never known. An award-winning producer, writer and director whose career spans more than 100 film and television productions, DeLaurentiis has also long supported members of the military through her Operation Hollywood program, which helps veterans pursue careers in entertainment. She has received two U.S. military Commendation Medals for the work.

“Twenty-five years is an important threshold,” said Suzanne DeLaurentiis. “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,” DeLaurentiis concluded.

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

The film is presented by Suzanne DeLaurentiis Productions and the Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation. Its commemoration of the boatlift also calls attention to the lasting health consequences experienced by people exposed to toxic debris following the attacks and the continuing need to support September 11 survivors. For more information on Kidney awareness and the Mendez National Institute of Transplantation Foundation visit MNITF.org.

ABOUT GREAT AMERICAN MEDIA
Great American Media is the leader in faith and family entertainment, and one of the fastest-growing entertainment networks on television. Great American Media is home to a portfolio of entertainment brands that celebrate faith, family, and country, including Great American Family, the flagship linear network featuring original Christmas movies, rom-coms, and beloved series; Great American Pure Flix, the leading faith and family streaming service; Great American Faith & Living, the unscripted companion network; and GFam+, an app that lets viewers watch anytime, anywhere. Great America Media, established in June 2021 by Bill Abbott and a group of US-based family offices, is available via cable, streaming on Pure Flix and YouTube TV, and on the GFam+ app.

MEDIA CONTACTS:
Pam Slay
Head of Network Program Publicity & Talent Relations
pamslay@gacmedia.com
818.415.3784
media@crosswindpr.com

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