Jules and Gédéon Naudet
French-born filmmakers who found themselves at the heart of 9/11, capturing the only known footage from inside the World Trade Center as it was struck.
Born 1973 (age 53)·French-American sibling filmmaker duo·Birthday: April 26·Generation X
Biography
Jules and Gédéon Naudet were in Lower Manhattan on September 11, 2001, with a simple goal: filming a documentary about a rookie firefighter. That morning, Jules followed Engine 7, Ladder 1 to what was thought to be a gas leak. His camera was rolling as the first plane roared overhead and struck the North Tower, capturing the only known footage from inside the tower at the moment of impact. While Jules remained inside the chaos, Gédéon filmed from outside. Their harrowing, intimate footage, woven with the story of the firefighters they were profiling, became the seminal documentary '9/11'. The film stands as a raw, human record of the day, eschewing politics for visceral, ground-level experience. The brothers, who became U.S. citizens in 1999, created an accidental, invaluable historical document.
Generation X
1965–1980
The latchkey kids. Raised during divorce, recession, and the end of the Cold War. Skeptical, self-reliant, media-literate. They invented indie culture, grunge, and the early internet — then watched the Boomers take credit.
Jules was born in 1973, placing them squarely in the Generation X. The events that shaped this generation — economic uncertainty, the end of the Cold War, and the rise of personal computing — shaped the world they entered and the choices available to them.
#1 When Jules Was Born
The biggest hits of 1973
#1 Movie
The Exorcist
Best Picture
The Sting
#1 TV Show
All in the Family
Jules's Life & Times
The world at every milestone
1973Born
US withdraws from Vietnam; Roe v. Wade decided
Gas: $0.39/galHome: $22,100Min wage: $1.60/hrPresident: Richard Nixon"Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree" — Tony Orlando & DawnBest Picture: The Sting
1978Started school
First test-tube baby born
Gas: $0.63/galHome: $35,300Min wage: $2.65/hrPresident: Jimmy Carter"Shadow Dancing" — Andy GibbBest Picture: The Deer Hunter
1986Became a teenager
Challenger disaster; Chernobyl nuclear meltdown
Gas: $0.86/galHome: $66,600Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: Ronald Reagan"That's What Friends Are For" — Dionne & FriendsBest Picture: Platoon
1989Could drive
Berlin Wall falls; Tiananmen Square protests
Gas: $1.00/galHome: $79,100Min wage: $3.35/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"Look Away" — ChicagoBest Picture: Driving Miss Daisy
1991Could vote
Soviet Union dissolves; World Wide Web goes public
Gas: $1.14/galHome: $82,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: George H.W. Bush"(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" — Bryan AdamsBest Picture: The Silence of the Lambs
1994Turned 21
Nelson Mandela elected president of South Africa
Gas: $1.11/galHome: $90,400Min wage: $4.25/hrPresident: Bill Clinton"The Sign" — Ace of BaseBest Picture: Forrest Gump
2003Turned 30
US invades Iraq; Human Genome Project completed
Gas: $1.59/galHome: $146,000Min wage: $5.15/hrPresident: George W. Bush"In Da Club" — 50 CentBest Picture: The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2013Turned 40
Edward Snowden reveals NSA surveillance programs
Gas: $3.53/galHome: $152,800Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Barack Obama"Thrift Shop" — Macklemore & Ryan LewisBest Picture: 12 Years a Slave
2023Turned 50
ChatGPT goes mainstream; Israel-Hamas war begins
Gas: $3.52/galHome: $361,600Min wage: $7.25/hrPresident: Joe Biden"Flowers" — Miley CyrusBest Picture: Oppenheimer
2026Age 53 today
Gas: $3.91/galPresident: Donald Trump
Key Achievements
- Directed and produced the landmark documentary '9/11', which contains the only known footage from inside the World Trade Center as the first plane hit.
- Their film '9/11' won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Nonfiction Special.
- Donated all proceeds from their documentary '9/11' to charity, specifically to support the families of firefighters.
- Their work provided an unprecedented, real-time record of the events from a first-responder's perspective.
- Successfully transitioned to directing other documentary and reality television projects after the global impact of '9/11'.
Did You Know?
They were originally filming a documentary about a probationary firefighter, not the attacks.
Jules Naudet was in the lobby of the North Tower when the South Tower collapsed.
They refused to sell their footage to news networks, choosing to craft a full documentary instead.
Both brothers became naturalized United States citizens just two years before the attacks.
Their film was broadcast commercially without any advertisement breaks as a mark of respect.
“We were there to film a probationary firefighter, and then the world changed.”
