I Live at Ground Zero offers a different take on the 9/11 disaster – we see it through the eyes of a nine year old girl. Since birth Isabella has lived in Tribeca, New York City, in the shadow of the World Trade Center towers. Her public school, PS 234, was two blocks North of them and her local park, the New York City equivalent of a backyard, was across the street. The Twin Towers served as her north star, by which she learned to navigate her neighborhood and recognize the way home. Her community -- the protected, secure, and innocent world of her childhood -- was shattered on September 11th.
Over the following months, Schiller (her aunt) filmed Isabella's attempts to make sense of what she had witnessed that day. Growing up is usually a gentle, gradual process for middle class white girls in the Western world; however Isabella's experiences have catapulted her into a maturity beyond her years. The film focuses on her personal journey.
