An upcoming documentary will chronicle former Daily Show host Jon Stewart’s tireless fight to ensure 9/11 first responders receive the healthcare benefits they need and so deserve.
As Variety reported, No Responders Left Behind explores the hard-fought process of achieving healthcare and life-long compensation for the heroes of 9/11 from the U.S. government, which has repeatedly refused to foot the bill for its own ailing first responders.
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The 90-minute long documentary was shot over the span of five years, and follows Stewart, along with 9/11 social activist John Feal and the late FDNY hero Ray Pfeifer.
“John Feal and all the first responders have done so much for me, for the community, for the city, for the country,” Stewart said in a press release for the film. “To be able to repay some of that debt that I feel I owe them personally, that we all owe them, is the best feeling,”
He added, “Being a small part of this journey is the one thing I’m most proud of. I will follow John anywhere he wants to lead me next.”
News of the documentary comes a year after Stewart gave a powerful testimony before before the House Judiciary Committee.
The comedian’s emotional speech outlined why he believes the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund should be made permanently available to first responders, not temporary, so those heroes could be assured they would always have lifelong help:
“What an incredible metaphor this room is for the entire process that getting health care and benefits for 9/11 first responders has come to. Behind me, a filled room of 9/11 first responders and in front of me, a nearly empty Congress. Sick and dying, they brought themselves down here to speak. To no one.”
The documentary will take a particularly emotional turn when Pfeifer is diagnosed with brain cancer as a result of the toxins he was exposed to at Ground Zero.
Unfortunately, Pfeifer would lose his battle with the cancer in 2017 and pass away at the age of 59.
Before Stewart appeared before Congress two years later, he was brought to tears when he was given Pfeifer’s FDNY bunker coat .
This week, Blue Ant International officially acquired the global rights to the film.
“Next year will mark the 20th anniversary when the entire world watched the tragedy of 9/11 unfold and saw those first responders head courageously toward their rescue mission,” Ludo Dufour, SVP, International Co-Productions and Sales for Blue Ant International said in the press release .
“This is an incredibly moving story that shines a light on the fight for health care and also provides an inspirational and encouraging look at what a small, but mighty group of passionate activists can achieve against all odds.”
h/t: Variety