9/11 changed us as a nation, and American Identity is a powerful and moving story of hope, love, and the triumph of the human spirit. Throughout history, when the call has come, there are those among us who have answered. They stand for courage. They stand for duty. They stand for country. Their sacrifice is testament to our true AMERICAN IDENTITY.
This serves as a backdrop to a story of the dynamics of two military families, their dedication to our country and to each other.
THE STORY BEHIND THE STORY
On September 10th, 2001, while in New York working on a film, “American Identity” writer/producer/director Stephen Rollins was given a surprise birthday dinner by friends at the elegant ‘Windows of the World’ restaurant atop the World Trade Center. Emmy award winner David Angell and his wife Lynn, friends of Stephen’s, called to wish him ‘Happy Birthday’ from Boston, where they were visiting David’s ill mother.
The next morning, Stephen would stand in amazement near the smoking hole in the building where he just celebrated his birthday hours before, and watch in horror as a second plane struck WTC Tower 2. While working as a volunteer at the rubble that evening, he learned the awful news that his friends the Angell’s were on that flight, American Airlines Flight #11. American Identity is dedicated to the memory of David and Lynn Angell.
Stephen not only wanted to honor his lost friends, but also to pay tribute to all the victims, the military, and to do it in a way that would not exploit the situation. American Identity is a film with a purpose, not political, but a very poignant personal purpose. Because Stephen had family that served in the military, he chose to write a story that would pay tribute, not only to those lost that day, but to the first responders, and to the military who were lost in Afghanistan in the months following the attacks and, finally, to the families who have risked and sacrificed so much in our defense.
