Robert Morris University’s (RMU) Center for Documentary Production and Study will recognize the fifth anniversary of the nation’s Sept. 11 terrorist attacks this fall with a special DVD edition of its acclaimed student-produced documentary “America Talks,” featuring interviews with RMU students who worked on the 45-minute video as well as a new behind-the-scenes look at its creation.

The documentary - which received national attention upon its completion in early 2002, including a segment on CBS’ “The Early Show,” more than 50 newspaper articles, and a Golden Triangle Award from the Pittsburgh chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators - examines the sentiments of American people in the days and weeks following the terrorist attacks, as captured through interviews conducted in such places as outside the gates of the White House, on the streets of New York City, and throughout western Pennsylvania, including at airports, high schools, universities, fire halls, and near the Shanksville crash site. Initially intended as a project for students in professor James Seguin’s television production course, the making of “America Talks” grew to involve 24 students, who spent 25 days filming and conducting interviews and more than 40 days editing footage.

“Creating ‘America Talks’ was a life-altering experience for both my students and me,” said James Seguin, Ph.D., director of RMU’s Center for Documentary Production and Study. “We jumped headfirst into the project in an attempt to create something positive from a devastating event. I don’t think any of the students will ever forget their involvement with it, and believe that the documentary stands as a unique and important historical account of people’s thoughts and feelings at the time.”

Shown at screenings throughout western Pennsylvania, including one in Shanksville, “America Talks” also served as the inspiration for the 2002 follow-up RMU documentary “Beyond Our Shadow,” which looked at the reactions of people in Britain and Ireland to 9/11, and helped spur the formation of RMU’s Center for Documentary Production and Study. Since its creation in 2002, the Center has produced several other noteworthy documentary projects, including 2003’s “The Baluh Boys,” the story of three Pennsylvania brothers who were killed during World War II; 2006’s “Portrait of a Campaign,” which provided a behind-the-scenes look at the 2003 race for the office of Allegheny County chief executive; and “That’s Amore! The 10th Annual Dean Martin Festival,” shown during this summer’s festival celebrating comedian-singer Dean Martin in Steubenville, Ohio.

In addition to video production, RMU’s Center also sponsors documentary exchange programs with international institutions in Turkey (University of Bahcesehir, Istanbul), Germany (University of Applied Sciences, Dortmund), and Chile (Universidad de Valparaiso). This summer, the Center hosted four students and one faculty member from the Turkish and German universities, who, during their time here, shot footage for documentary projects that will be completed at their home institutions and focus on such topics as yard sales, college fraternities, the history and culture of drive-in movie theaters, and what Americans know and think about Turkey.

Earlier this year, five RMU students visited Valparaiso, Chile, on the first phase of the Center’s newest exchange program. Documentary videos resulting from this trip will be shown at RMU this fall, with the second part of the exchange occurring when Chilean students visit Pittsburgh in July 2007.

Robert Morris University, founded in 1921, is a private, four-year institution with an enrollment of approximately 5,000 undergraduate and graduate students. The University offers 30 undergraduate degree programs and 18 master’s and doctoral degree programs. An estimated 22,000 alumni live and work in Western Pennsylvania.