“September 5 raises a number of questions that are more important to address than ever,” says director and writer Tim Fehlbaum. “Beside our goal of telling a fast-paced, thrilling story, the film also sheds light on this historical event from a very specific perspective and I believe that the combination of these elements will hopefully create an exciting, and simultaneously thought-provoking experience for audiences.”
Set during the 1972 Munich Summer Olympics, the suspenseful thriller September 5 follows the ABC
Sports broadcasting team that found themselves having to quickly shift from sports reporting to live news
coverage when Israeli athletes were suddenly taken hostage.
Some of the biggest real-time challenges the broadcasters faced included the potential inadvertent sharing of law enforcement’s plans and movements with the terrorists themselves– who were thought to be able to watch the international coverage within the Olympic village– thus potentially derailing the rescue mission, in addition to the horrors of witnessing and airing a terrorist attack live to millions of people around the world.
September 5 shines a light on this pivotal moment that transformed media coverage and continues to
impact the way live news and terrorism interact today. This tragedy from the 1972 Summer Games forever
shifted the media’s playbook, from terrorist bombings to freeway chases and school shootings, forcing
journalists to focus on the impact these evolving technologies would have not only on audiences but also on the subjects they were covering.
A sports television team saw itself confronted with the challenge of reporting on a terrorist attack live, and had to question procedures given their proximity to the quickly unfolding events and the technology at hand.
At the heart of the story is Geoff (John Magaro), a young and ambitious producer striving to prove himself to his boss, the legendary TV executive Roone Arledge (Peter Sarsgaard). Together with German interpreter Marianne (Leonie Benesch) and his mentor Marvin Bader (Ben Chaplin), the story focuses on the intricate details of the high-tech broadcast capabilities of the time, juxtaposed against the many lives at stake and the moral decisions that needed to be made against an impossible ticking clock.
In this powerful film, the multi-award-winning Swiss director Tim Fehlbaum tells the story of the Munich Massacre of 1972 from this perspective.
The screenplay was by Moritz Binder and Tim Fehlbaum and co-written by Alex David, and was filmed at Bavaria Studios and at locations throughout Munich, Germany.
Even as Tim Fehlbaum’s previous film Tides (aka The Colony) was still in post production, the director
and two producers– Thomas Wöbke and Philipp Trauer of BerghausWöbke Filmproduktion– began to
work on a new project together. “As a Munich-based production company, we were familiar with the events of 1972, as well as the existing film adaptations,” says Wöbke. “Steven Spielberg’s Munich tells the aftermath, but we felt that there was still more to this story that was ripe to be told for the big screen. We locked ourselves in a room for several days and ultimately decided that we wanted to make a film about the terror attack during the 1972 Olympics in Munich,” explained Trauer.
The filmmakers were inspired by Kevin Macdonald’s documentary One Day in September, which takes a
forensic look at the 1972 Munich Olympics, and Paul Greengrass’s film United 93, which told the story of the tragic flight of September 11, 2001 with documentary precision and in real time. “We thought about what it would be like to narrate the events of September 5, 1972 in a way that felt like we had been there, close up, as a reporting team,” Trauer explains, noting that it was not lost on them that the 50th anniversary of the events in Munich was approaching at the time.
Crafting the Screenplay
Moritz Binder came on board to write the screenplay with Fehlbaum, and the pair also collaborated with co-writer Alex David who had previously worked with Wöbke. David was initially tasked with helping with the German to English translation but continued to assist in the sharpening of characters and overall pacing, heightening the language and tension.
As they dug into their research, the media’s pivotal role in the day’s events was quite compelling. The
producers soon discovered an article written by a former production runner, Jimmy Schaeffler, who spoke
highly of Geoffrey Mason, the then 32-year-old coordinating producer who had been in Munich under the leadership of the legendary Roone Arledge, the president of ABC Sports at that time. Arledge, who was declared one of the 100 most important Americans of the 20th century by Life Magazine, is considered the inventor and formative pioneer of modern sports reporting.
“ABC Sports had offered the highest amount for the broadcasting rights at the time,” explains Trauer. “They had built their own production complex right next to the Olympic Village. Only a hill separated their studio from the athletes’ accommodations. And we knew that they were the only TV channel to set up a live camera at the location of the events of September 5.”
After talking to Mason, it occurred to the filmmakers that he would make a great central character in the film. “Mason told us vividly and in great detail about his experiences on that day,” recalls Fehlbaum. “He told us about the 22 hours he spent producing the broadcasting of the live coverage, which he still recalls very precisely.”
“Geoffrey spoke of the stress, the difficult decisions, the moral dilemmas and the deep emotions that are present to this day,” adds Trauer. “It quickly became clear that this was the film we wanted to make. That was the decisive moment.”
“When I was approached with the idea of telling the story of September 5 via the perspective of the ABC Sports coverage of that event, I was very impressed by the depth of research that had been accorded the project,” recalls Mason, who came on board as a co-producer of the film. “But more importantly, after I read early versions of the script, I was impressed by how deeply personal the experience was, not only to those of us involved in the production, but in telling the story of what transpired. This is a story about the people in that control room and how we all reacted to what was happening in front of us. I am blessed to be one of the very few people still around to help tell that story through the eyes and hearts of those of us who were there that day. It has been a unique opportunity.”
ABC executives and staff who had been heavily involved that day in September, including Roone Arledge and Jim McKay, had also written biographies and, unsurprisingly, the events that had transpired in 1972 featured throughout given just how much it had characterized and influenced their lives. “Each of them described this day from their own perspective,” observes Wöbke.
The filmmakers were also able to obtain first-hand insights from Schaeffler, who, in his role as a runner for ABC in 1972, had smuggled film footage past the police cordons disguised as an athlete; and Sean McManus who was, until recently, Chairman of CBS Sports. A young man at the time, McManus had sat in the control room while his father, Jim McKay, was presenting the Olympics in the studio next door. It was a pivotal moment for September 5 when McManus gave the project his blessing and offered his
support.
“I was next to my dad for the entire day, night and early morning and watched him report on what was the darkest day in sports history,” McManus remembers. “His reporting, calm presence and compassion were simply striking as the world awaited the outcome of the Israeli Olympic Team. September 5 presents this story as it unfolds, with gripping realism and accuracy from the perspective of ABC Sports. The telling of this moment in history will remain with the audience for the rest of their lives.”
As the creative team developed the film further, they were also struck by just how young many of the
journalists and technicians were who worked for ABC in Munich, some in their twenties or early thirties. “It
was a special life experience for them to be on location at these Olympic Games, in which Munich– and
indeed the whole of Germany– were consciously trying to break away from the sinister German past, which at the time was only 27 years prior,” explains Trauer. “And it was also a great challenge for all those involved to handle this massive technical apparatus. What ABC had put together for their broadcasting from Munich was incredible. It was unprecedented and set new standards.”
The ABC Sports of 1972 was undeniably far ahead of the curve– and not only of its more talking head-centric news division, but of all the other channels, too. “Roone Arledge was a visionary of storytelling,” notes Fehlbaum. “The personal histories of the athletes became part of the narrative, their biographies, wishes and desires. But ABC Sports also outstripped the others in terms of technology: innovative technologies such as the use of slow motion and handheld cameras coupled with sensational title designs were the repertoire of Arledge’s team.
In his memoirs, broadcasting engineer Joe Maltz describes the massive technical effort that was necessary for the first live broadcast of the Olympic Games and how the ABC crew improvised on the day the hostages were taken in order to get the audience as close to the events as possible. Combined with Arledge’s innovative approaches to narrative, this resulted in a paradox that would characterize the decades to come: news became infotainment.”
And in his ongoing interviews with Mason, Fehlbaum notes that there was one answer in particular that gave him complete clarity on the story he wanted to tell. “Of whether they had thought about those broader implications and consequences during the broadcast, Geoffrey just said, ‘There was simply no
time,’” recalls Fehlbaum.
“In that moment Moritz and I became aware that this is exactly how the film should feel. The audience should experience the intensity of the live coverage with the characters, and be there when moral decisions have to be made against the backdrop of a constantly ticking clock.”
Mason proceeded to review the script to ensure filmmakers were capturing the tone and tenor of the day.
Binder notes that he and Fehlbaum were especially drawn to the idea of exploring the impact of imagery in media reporting. “What lingers from a specific event is the resonance of the images,” he says. “We have all kept the events of September 5, 1972 in our collective memory but it is important to acknowledge that those images are there as a product of the reporting. So we wanted to tell the story behind these images
and how they emerged from this event. We didn’t want to give simple answers but instead, we preferred to ask serious questions as media professionals, narrators, and viewers ourselves.”
When Trauer read the newly-drafted script, he recalls not being able to put it down. “It was gripping,
suspenseful and electrifying. It had an entirely new quality and followed the conceptual idea of having the
entire plot unfold inside the studio complex. The idea of not going outside at all except for the clips on the many monitors turned out to be a complete success.”
With such a specific narrative for the film now established, the filmmakers realized just how much power there would be in utilizing the original ABC footage in their movie; however, accessing the archives and licensing the original material wasn’t going to be easy. “If we were going to create September 5 as a thriller with a focus on ABC Sports, we would absolutely require the original recordings,” says Wöbke of the daunting hurdle they now faced. “It was clear to us that we would need Geoffrey Mason to help us access the material given his ongoing relationship with ABC.”
Having ABC’s original tapes at their disposal proved to be invaluable to Fehlbaum and Binder.
“Viewing the broadcast footage made it possible to recreate a reconstruction of events with the control room and we structured the screenplay accordingly,” shares Fehlbaum. “This also led to a visual strategy that would characterize the film. We planned the set in such a way that the original material from 1972 could run on the monitors and in this way blend in with our directed scenes.”
While watching the footage, Fehlbaum says he became increasingly fascinated by the work of presenter Jim McKay who always appeared professional and formal in his reporting. “In spite of everything, he was able to radiate empathy with all those affected,” notes the director. “It seemed impossible to me to reproduce this performance with an actor. In order to convey the urgency of the moment we knew we would also have to incorporate the original material of Jim into our film.”
With an enviable creative team in place, Fehlbaum says that everyone remained on the same page from beginning to end. “You can tell what was special about this film was the exceptional team of creative producers we had,” he notes. “We were constantly communicating and were always focused on how
we could tell the story in the best way possible.”
DIRECTOR’S STATEMENT
The Munich Olympic attack on September 5, 1972 was a tragic event with profound political implications. The live broadcasts on this day marked a turning point in media reporting, bringing a new dimension to how such incidents are seen and understood by the public. When the attack begins, a team of American sports reporters are suddenly responsible for the subsequent 22 hours of live coverage, switching their responsibilities from sporting events to geopolitics. I was interested in the unprecedented situation that the media faced: this was the first time an event of this nature was covered by a live broadcast.
During our research with ABC journalists who were on the ground, we learned details about what they experienced in that control room, and early on we decided to narrate our film purely from this angle,
from the viewpoint of the coverage. We are constantly in the TV studio, almost like in a chamber play, the
cameras the only eyes cast on the tragic events unfolding before us.
This focus seemed especially relevant in today’s world: with the advent of live streaming and the instant availability of images and videos, the ways in which events are processed have changed dramatically.
Images wield enormous influence—they shape public opinion, mobilize people, and can even drive political decisions.
The spatial limitation on the narrative world to the ABC Sports TV studio means that we are confronted with the moral, ethical, professional and ultimately psychological dilemmas of journalists who only become aware of their responsibility when switching from sports to crisis news. As a filmmaker I felt an
affinity with the complexity of the situation. On the one hand I was critical of the development towards tragic events being processed as sensations. But on the other I was fascinated by the ambitions and dilemmas of the journalists to tell the story accurately.
The events in Munich and its direct and indirect consequences remain relevant today. Capturing the
underlying political conflict within our approach would not do all the complexities and nuances justice. In our film, the events of September 5, 1972 are presented purely from the perspective of the sports reporters in the ABC studio.
By assuming this specific vantage point, we shine a light on this watershed moment in journalism and its influential legacy. As was true then, today’s media landscape and the technology that facilitates it are constantly evolving, along with our ever-increasing appetite for a 24/7 breaking news cycle. We seek to raise ethical questions– which are as germane now as they were then– about the responsibilities and impacts of crisis reporting and our consumption of it.
TIM FEHLBAUM
TIM FEHLBAUM (Director, Screenwriter, Producer) was born in Basel, Switzerland, in 1982. Fehlbaum studied directing from 2002-2009 at the University of Television and Film Munich. In 2011 Fehlbaum made his feature film debut with the bleak post-apocalyptic thriller HELL, for which he also co-wrote the screenplay. In 2021 Fehlbaum’s science-fiction thriller film TIDES premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival in the Berlinale Special section and subsequently won several awards, such as four German Film Awards, as well as two Bavarian Film Awards for Best Director and Best Cinematography.
MORITZ BINDER (Screenwriter) is a German screenwriter, born in Munich in 1982. September 5 marks Binder’s first feature film screenplay. The script was created together with the film’s director Tim Fehlbaum and co-writer Alex David. Binder developed the story for the award-winning comedy Alles Fifty Fifty together with writer and director Alireza Golafshan, and is currently developing three other feature film scripts for German production companies. Binder has written for several television shows, including the prestigious series “Tatort”, which has been broadcast on German television since 1970, as well as the revival of the German cult series “Neue Geschichten vom Pumuckl”, for which he wrote the pilot episode and season finale. After graduating from Munich college for design and art, Binder initially worked as a TV journalist before studying documentary film and television journalism at the University of Television and Film Munich. He graduated in 2017. During his studies, Binder wrote and directed numerous film projects. His documentaries, reports and short films were shown at international festivals. He won the Starter Film Award of the City of Munich, as well as the city’s university award for the best graduation project. Concurrent to his studies, he realised award-winning art installations at the Academy of Fine Arts Munich and exhibited at the Pinakothek der Moderne, and taught film dramaturgy and journalism at private film schools and at the Goethe Institutes in Brussels and Paris. Binder lives and works in Munich.
ALEX DAVID (Co-Writer) Alex David is an award-winning screenwriter with an MFA from The American Film Institute (AFI). For over 15 years he has written and developed screenplays and television series for various independent companies, producers and acclaimed directors in both Hollywood and Germany, including multiple projects with Constantin Films. In addition, he has taught screenwriting at several universities and institutions throughout Germany.
