Movies like Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11 (2006)
The best movies like Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11 (2006) are 102 Minutes That Changed America (2008), 9/11 (2002) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013). If Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11 hooked you, these 20 similar films are what to watch next, and every pick says why it matches.
Quick picks
- Highest ratedFor Sama (2019)8.2/10 from 323 votes
- NewestAll the Empty Rooms (2025)Released 2025
102 Minutes That Changed America (2008)
The morning of September 11, 2001 is shown through multiple video cameras in and around New York City, from the moment the first WTC tower is hit until after both towers collapse.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like this9/11 (2002)
An on-the-scene documentary following the events of September 11, 2001 from an insider's view, through the lens of two French filmmakers who simply set out to make a movie about a rookie NYC fireman and ended up filming the tragic event that changed our lives forever.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisThe Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013)
In New York, a Pakistani native finds that his American Dream has collapsed in the wake of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this9/11: Inside the President's War Room (2021)
Experience the events of September 11, 2001 through the eyes of President Bush and his closest advisors as they personally detail the crucial hours and key decisions from that historic day.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisEinstein and the Bomb (2024)
What happened after Einstein fled Nazi Germany? Using archival footage and his own words, this docudrama dives into the mind of a tortured genius.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisFor Sama (2019)
A love letter from a young mother to her daughter, the film tells the story of Waad al-Kateab’s life through five years of the uprising in Aleppo, Syria as she falls in love, gets married and gives birth to Sama, all while cataclysmic conflict rises around her. Her camera captures incredible stories of loss, laughter and survival as Waad wrestles with an impossible choice– whether or not to flee the city to protect her daughter’s life, when leaving means abandoning the struggle for freedom for which she has already sacrificed so much.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisAll the Empty Rooms (2025)
A journalist and a photographer set out to memorialize the bedrooms left behind by children killed in school shootings.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCitizenfour (2014)
In June 2013, Laura Poitras and reporter Glenn Greenwald flew to Hong Kong for the first of many meetings with Edward Snowden. She brought her camera with her.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisUnknown Dimension: The Story of Paranormal Activity (2021)
A deep dive into the making of the Paranormal Activity films with first time ever interviews with cast and crew, never-before-seen footage from the movies, and a preview of the seventh installment in the franchise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisWick Is Pain (2025)
Witness the never-before-seen footage and true story behind the John Wick phenomenon – from independent film to billion-dollar franchise.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisWorth (2021)
Kenneth Feinberg, a powerful D.C. lawyer appointed Special Master of the 9/11 Fund, fights off the cynicism, bureaucracy, and politics associated with administering government funds and, in doing so, discovers what life is worth.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisJim & Andy: The Great Beyond - Featuring a Very Special, Contractually Obligated Mention of Tony Clifton (2017)
Through the lens of his stunningly immersive performance as Andy Kaufman, Jim Carrey ponders the meaning of life, reality, identity and career.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisEarthlings (2005)
Using hidden cameras and never-before-seen footage, Earthlings chronicles the day-to-day practices of the largest industries in the world, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Absolute CinemaMovies like thisObi-Wan Kenobi: A Jedi's Return (2022)
This special explores the return of Obi-Wan Kenobi and Anakin Skywalker to the screen, as well as Ewan McGregor and Hayden Christensen to their classic roles. Director Deborah Chow leads the cast and crew as they create new heroes and villains that live alongside new incarnations of beloved Star Wars characters, and an epic story that dramatically bridges the saga films.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisMaria by Callas (2017)
Told through performances, TV interviews, home movies, family photographs, private letters and unpublished memoirs, the film reveals the essence of an extraordinary woman who rose from humble beginnings in New York City to become a glamorous international superstar and one of the greatest artists of all time.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisLife in a Day (2011)
A documentary shot by filmmakers all over the world that serves as a time capsule to show future generations what it was like to be alive on the 24th of July, 2010.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisSymbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (1968)
In Manhattan's Central Park, a film crew directed by William Greaves is shooting a screen test with various pairs of actors. It's a confrontation between a couple: he demands to know what's wrong, she challenges his sexual orientation. Cameras shoot the exchange, and another camera records Greaves and his crew. Sometimes we watch the crew discussing this scene, its language, and the process of making a movie. Is there such a thing as natural language? Are all things related to sex? The camera records distractions - a woman rides horseback past them; a garrulous homeless vet who sleeps in the park chats them up. What's the nature of making a movie?
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like thisVisions of Light (1992)
Cameramen and women discuss the craft and art of cinematography and of the "DP" (the director of photography), illustrating their points with clips from 100 films, from Birth of a Nation to Do the Right Thing. Themes: the DP tells people where to look; changes in movies (the arrival of sound, color, and wide screens) required creative responses from DPs; and, these artisans constantly invent new equipment and try new things, with wonderful results. The narration takes us through the identifiable studio styles of the 30s, the emergence of noir, the New York look, and the impact of Europeans. Citizen Kane, The Conformist, and Gordon Willis get special attention.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisInterstellar: Nolan's Odyssey (2014)
A look behind the lens of Christopher Nolan's space epic.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Worth the HypeMovies like thisCameraperson (2016)
As a visually radical memoir, CAMERAPERSON draws on the remarkable footage that filmmaker Kirsten Johnson has shot and reframes it in ways that illuminate moments and situations that have personally affected her. What emerges is an elegant meditation on the relationship between truth and the camera frame, as Johnson transforms scenes that have been presented on Festival screens as one kind of truth into another kind of story—one about personal journey, craft, and direct human connection.
Why it matches: Recommended by TMDB viewers
Popcorn FlickMovies like this
Like Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11 and something else?
Blend two favourites and we’ll find the films in between.
Frequently asked questions
What are the best movies like Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11?
The closest matches to Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11 are 102 Minutes That Changed America (2008), 9/11 (2002) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013). Below are 17 more, each with the reason it matches.
What should I watch after Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11?
Start with 102 Minutes That Changed America (2008), the closest match to Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11.
What is the highest-rated movie like Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11?
For Sama (2019), rated 8.2/10 by 323 TMDB users.
What is the newest movie like Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11?
All the Empty Rooms (2025) is the most recent release on this list.
Are there English movies like Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11?
Yes: 102 Minutes That Changed America (2008), 9/11 (2002) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2013).
How are movies similar to Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11 chosen?
First come films that Trakt’s viewers watch alongside Chasing Planes: Witnesses to 9/11, then TMDB’s recommendations and films it rates as similar in story and genre. Each pick says which signal put it there.