Facebook's first-ever movie premiere is a controversial 9/11 documentary

Advertisement
Facebook's first-ever movie premiere is a controversial 9/11 documentary
Family members of 9/11 victims tribute their loved ones on the 19th anniversary of September 11 attacks at NYC's 9/11 Museum and Memorial. Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images
  • 9/11 documentary "The Outsider" will debut in Facebook's first-ever movie premiere, Axios reported.
  • Officials of the 9/11 Memorial and Museum have called parts of the film "defamatory."
  • CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Facebook will not take a cut from independent creators until 2023.
Advertisement

Facebook's first-ever movie premiere will debut as a ticketed event on Facebook Live, company executives told Axios. The premiere will feature "The Outsider," a controversial documentary that explores the creation of the National 9/11 Memorial and Museum in New York City.

The movie will be live-streamed exclusively on Facebook for $3.99 on August 19, available to users in over 100 countries.

In June, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said that content creator features such as live events will remain free until 2023, adding "when we do introduce a revenue share, it will be less than the 30% that Apple and others take."

Complimentary Tech Event
Transform talent with learning that works
Capability development is critical for businesses who want to push the envelope of innovation.Discover how business leaders are strategizing around building talent capabilities and empowering employee transformation.Know More

"Until this film, you would have had to find an international distributor to do individual broadcast and theatrical deals," Rosenbaum told Axios' Sara Fischer. "... without Facebook, all of the mid-sized and smaller markets would never see this."

Museum officials have called some parts of the documentary "defamatory," while directors Steven Rosenbaum and Pamela Yoder said that the museum "censors and controls" reporting about the memorial.

Advertisement

Michael Shulan, the film's main character and former creative director of the museum, reportedly said that the museum created a "Disneyfication" of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

Lee Cochran, a spokeswoman for the museum, told the NY Daily News that "the film looks at the museum through a very specific ideological lens which we do not share." Several relatives of people lost on September 11, 2001, have voiced support for the documentary.

{{}}