On that morning

On 9/11, Ryan Frost, ’05, was three weeks into his first year at the University of Richmond. He remembers sitting in his room trying to process what was happening, watching the news in class, and even going out the weekend after, seeking some semblance of normalcy. But Frost’s strongest memories crystalized about 12 years later when he began writing his first screenplay.

“I had a weird realization around 2013 that some of my closest friends today are from freshman year, from the first few weeks of school,” Frost said. “And while 9/11 wasn’t always at the forefront of our minds, I think it had a role in building those friendships that have lasted.”

Once he landed on the idea, he said, the screenplay just flew out of him.

Frost’s film, September Morning, follows five college students coming to terms with the events surrounding 9/11 as they unfold. They have deep conversations over pizza and beer, worry over loved ones, and bond over their shared experience.

The film’s distributor planned screenings in major cities around the country, but Frost also wanted to bring the film to Richmond. With the help of English and film studies professor Peter Lurie, Frost screened September Morning at the Byrd Theatre in downtown Richmond on Sept. 11, 2017.

“Through this film, I got to look back at people who have helped shaped me and my life — special people that I went to school with,” Frost said. “Richmond is where this story came from. It’s where I grew up, so to get to play my first movie at one of the most iconic theaters in Richmond was very special.”