“There Was a Before and an After”: Remembering 9/11 with 9/11: Reunited

Twenty-five years after September 11, the stories of those who lived through that day remain essential. At the Tribeca Festival, NaVell J.

Lee sits down with 9/11 survivor Debbie St. John and 9/11: Reunited producer Louis Lee Ray for two deeply personal conversations about memory, survival and the people whose lives became forever connected on September 11, 2001.

St. John reflects on how the attacks changed America's sense of security, the importance of remembering the ordinary people who risked their lives for strangers, and why September 11 represents a distinct “before and after.” Ray takes us behind the making of 9/11: Reunited and the emotional experience of bringing people back together 25 years later.

NaVell also shares his own memories of watching the attacks unfold from his U.S. History classroom and why meeting survivors and first responders in the years since has strengthened his belief that their stories must continue to be told.

Recorded at the 2026 Tribeca Festival.