CNN Films and TIME Studios Present New Documentary Short "Top of the World" from Julie Cohen & Betsy West

Produced in Association Montalto Pictures, Tribeca Studios and Storyville Films

Portrait of the Windows on the World Restaurant and Its Enduring Cultural Impact to Premiere This Fall on CNN Following Limited Theatrical Run

NEW YORK, NY - (May 13, 2026) - CNN Films and TIME Studios today announced Top of the World, a new documentary short from Academy Award(R) nominated, Emmy(R) Award winning filmmakers Betsy West and Julie Cohen. Set inside Windows on the World, the legendary restaurant atop the World Trade Center, the documentary short draws on the voices of those who worked there to capture a portrait of ambition, community, and resilience. Produced in association with Montalto Pictures, Tribeca Studios, and Storyville Films, Top of the World will premiere this fall in select theaters and on CNN, marking the 25th anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks and the 50th anniversary of the opening of Windows on the World.

"Windows had so many elements of what makes New York beautiful: the glamour and spectacle of the high end food and fine wine world, and a talented staff of immigrants from around the globe who brought their diverse experiences to the job every day. We're so excited to tell this rich, multi-faceted story," said Cohen and West.

"Ryan and I read Tom Roston's The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World when it was released in 2019, and from that moment on, we were determined to bring this remarkable story to the screen," said said Katie Lee Biegel and Ryan Biegel of Montalto Pictures. "Windows on the World represented so much of New York City's spirit, and the history of Windows, in many ways, mirrored that of the city itself. The stories featured in this documentary are emotional and inspiring. Julie and Betsy have done an extraordinary job striking the delicate balance between celebrating the magic and cultural impact of Windows while honoring the lives lost on that tragic day. We are incredibly proud to be partnering with CNN on this project."

"Few filmmakers working today are as skilled at illuminating the human stories behind defining moments in history as Betsy West and Julie Cohen," said Amy Entelis, executive vice president for talent, CNN Originals and creative development for CNN Worldwide. "Top of the World offers a deeply personal window into a place that meant so much to New York and to the people who worked there."

"This is a deeply special project for all of us at TIME. Windows on the World represented the energy, optimism, and soul of New York, and we're thankful to our partners for the opportunity to help bring this remarkable story to audiences," said TIME Studios President Ben Bitonti.

Top of the World explores Windows on the World, the iconic restaurant that occupied the 106th and 107th floors of the North Tower of the World Trade Center. Opened in 1976 and developed by renowned restaurateur Joe Baum, it was more than a dining destination; it was a symbol of New York, where the city's skyline, global ambition, and diverse workforce came together under one roof.

At its height, Windows on the World was the highest-grossing standalone restaurant in the United States and a cultural crossroads where more than 60 languages were spoken among the staff. For many who worked there, it was a gateway to opportunity and an entry point into American life, where careers were built, families supported, and a tight-knit community formed that reflected the city's immigrant spirit. That community was forever changed on September 11, 2001, when the attacks on the World Trade Center claimed the lives of 79 Windows employees and reshaped the lives of those who survived.

Based on Tom Roston's The Most Spectacular Restaurant in the World, West and Cohen illuminate the extraordinary ecosystem that existed from the dining room to the kitchen, where mentorship, ambition, and quiet acts of generosity defined daily life. The film is anchored by firsthand accounts from Kevin Zraly, the restaurant's longtime wine master whose tenure spanned from its opening through its final day; Sekou Siby, who arrived from Côte d'Ivoire as a prep cook and built a path to citizenship; Michael Lomonaco, the final head chef who led the restaurant to its greatest acclaim; and Nathalie Tolentino, a Peruvian-born hostess who became a vital link for grieving families in the aftermath of the attacks. Interwoven throughout, the words of visionary restaurateur Joe Baum, drawn from decades of rich archival recordings, serve as a guiding presence.

Complementing this portrait, executive producer Katie Lee Biegel serves as culinary consultant and food stylist, working alongside executive producer Ryan Biegel, to help bring the restaurant's menu and culinary artistry vividly to life.

With their signature character driven storytelling, Cohen and West shape personal histories into a lasting collective memory, as Top of the World becomes a story not only of loss, but of endurance, revealing how a community built in one of New York's most iconic spaces continues to shape lives long after it disappeared.

Top of the World is directed and executive produced by Betsy West and Julie Cohen. The documentary short is produced by Ryan Biegel, Vicky Liu, and Holly Siegel. Executive Producers are Amy Entelis and Roxanna Sherwood for CNN Films; Ben Bitoni and Loren Hammonds for TIME Studios; Katie Lee Biegel and Ryan Biegel for Montalto Pictures; Jane Rosenthal and Berry Welsh for Tribeca Studios; Regina K Scully; and Oren Jacoby. Top of the World is edited by Ilya Chaiken and director of photography is Claudia Raschke.

The project marks the fifth collaboration between the filmmakers and CNN Films (RBG, JULIA, GABBY GIFFORDS: Won't Back Down, and the forthcoming AMELIA), and a continued reteaming between CNN Films and TIME Studios following prior projects on public figures including John Lewis and Gabby Giffords.

Julie Cohen and Betsy West are Academy Award(R) nominated, Emmy(R) Award-winning filmmakers who directed and produced the theatrical documentaries RBG, which was nominated for an Oscar(R); My Name is Pauli Murray, winner of the Peabody and duPont Columbia Awards; JULIA, shortlisted for an Oscar(R), and the forthcoming AMELIA. They were creative executive producers of last year's Oscar(R) shortlisted film FRIDA. Recently, Julie directed the documentaries Everybody and The Path Forward, and Betsy directed Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, also shortlisted for an Oscar(R) and produced Oren Jacoby's This Is Not a Drill, which premiered in 2025 at Telluride.

Before they began their filmmaking partnership in 2015, Betsy and Julie both had careers in broadcast journalism and independent documentaries. Julie was a producer at Court TV and Dateline NBC and directed The Sturgeon Queens (Berlinale 2015) and I Live to Sing (PBS; New York Emmy(R) for Best Arts Program) among others. Betsy was a network television news producer and executive, first at ABC where she won 21 Emmy(R) Awards, and then at CBS where she was the executive in charge of 60 Minutes. The duo is repped by CAA and Alexis Galfas at Cinetic Media.

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About CNN Originals

The CNN Originals group develops, produces and acquires original, long-form unscripted programming for CNN Worldwide. Amy Entelis, executive vice president of talent, CNN Originals and creative development, oversees the award-winning CNN Originals portfolio that includes the following premium content brands: CNN Original Series, CNN Films, CNN FlashDocs, and CNN Studios, an internal production studio which creates long-form programming for CNN's global platforms. Since 2012, the team has overseen and executive produced more than 50 multi-part documentary series and 70 feature-length documentary films, earning more than 120 awards and 450 nominations for the cable network, including CNN Films' first Academy Award(R) for Navalny. Acclaimed titles include the Peabody Award winning and 13-time Emmy(R) Award-winning Anthony Bourdain Parts Unknown; five time Emmy(R) nominee, Apollo 11, directed by Todd Douglas Miller; Eva Longoria: Searching for Spain and Emmy(R) nominated Eva Longoria: Searching for Mexico; the Emmy(R) Award-nominated "Decades Series": The Sixties, The Seventies, The Eighties, The Nineties, The 2000s, and The 2010s, executive produced by Tom Hanks and Gary Goetzman; I'm Chevy Chase and You're Not directed by Emmy(R) winner Marina Zenovich; The Last Movie Stars, directed by Ethan Hawke about the lives and careers of actors and humanitarians Joanne Woodward and Paul Newman; Grammy(R) Award nominee Little Richard: I Am Everything, directed by Lisa Cortés; the Oscar(R), BAFTA, PGA, and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, Navalny directed by Daniel Roher; The Many Lives of Martha Stewart; This is Life with Lisa Ling; Primetime Emmy(R) and duPont-Columbia Award-winning, RBG, directed by Betsy West and Julie Cohen; See It Loud: The History of Black Television, executive produced by LeBron James and Maverick Carter; Space Shuttle Columbia: The Final Flight in partnership with the BBC; the Producers Guild Award and three-time Emmy(R) Award-winning Stanley Tucci: Searching for Italy; BAFTA nominee and Directors Guild Award winner, Three Identical Strangers, directed by Tim Wardle; and the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning United Shades of America with W. Kamau Bell; and the five-time Emmy(R) Award-winning The Whole Story with Anderson Cooper. CNN Originals can be seen on CNN, to stream via a CNN All Access subscription, on the CNN Original Hub on HBO Max and discovery+, on the CNN Originals FAST channel, and with a pay TV subscription via CNN.com, CNN apps and cable operator platforms.

About TIME Studios

From one of the most globally iconic brands, TIME Studios is an Emmy Award-winning television and film studio as well as an award-winning immersive and branded content studio, focused on the development, production, and distribution of premium unscripted and scripted storytelling that moves the world. With technical innovation and a brand-defining visual language that dates back 103 years, TIME Studios aims to impact communities and the world at large with ideas that forge true progress. Combining the industry's leading creators with TIME, one of the most trusted brands that reaches an audience of over 120 million people globally, TIME Studios is uniquely positioned to bring massive audiences to the world's most impactful stories.

About Montalto Pictures

Montalto Pictures was co-founded by Emmy-nominated producer and television personality Katie Lee Biegel and producer Ryan Biegel to spotlight emotionally resonant stories rooted in the worlds of food, travel, and hospitality. Driven by a passion for authentic human connection and cultural discovery, Montalto develops and produces original content that celebrates the people, places, and experiences shaping how audiences eat, explore, and gather. Productions from the Montalto partners include the digital series It's Not Complicated, Hallmark Channel's scripted feature films Catch of the Day and Groundswell, as well as Food Network's Beach Bites. Katie Lee Biegel also co-hosted Food Network's The Kitchen for forty seasons, while Ryan Biegel serves as a longtime producer on the acclaimed travel series Somebody Feed Phil.

About Tribeca Enterprises

Tribeca Enterprises is a multi-platform media and entertainment company founded by Robert De Niro and Jane Rosenthal that owns and operates the Tribeca Festival, content division Tribeca Studios, film distribution label Tribeca Films, and production company m ss ng p eces. With strong roots in independent film, Tribeca is synonymous with creative expression and entertainment. With over 100+ production credits, Tribeca's recent projects include: "Breaking Glass: The Pat Summitt Story" for Hulu; "Oh. What. Fun." for Amazon MGM Studio; Ava DuVernay's When They See Us; the Grammy-award winning "Quincy"; Bohemian Rhapsody; Martin Scorsese's "The Irishman," and the upcoming "Focker-In-Law" for Universal Pictures, the next installment for one of the highest grossing comedy-franchises of all time.

About Storyville Films

Storyville Films was founded by Academy Award(R)-nominee Oren Jacoby to produce documentaries and series driven by strong personal narratives of conscience, courage and innovation. Jacoby and fellow Academy Award(R)-nominees Julie Cohen and Betsy West serve as Storyville's directors. Among our production and distribution partners are Amazon, CNN Films, HBO, Imagine Entertainment, Kino Lorber, Magnolia Pictures, Netflix, Participant Media, PBS, Sony Pictures Classics and Time Studios. Films by the Storyville partners include West and Cohen's Oscar(R) nominated RBG, Julia, and My Name is Pauli Murray; Jacoby's On Broadway, Shadowman, My Italian Secret, Constantine's Sword and Sister Rose's Passion, which was nominated for an Oscar(R) for Best Documentary (Short Subject); Cohen's Every Body, released theatrically by Focus Features; West's Once Upon a Time in Ukraine, and Jacoby and West's environmental feature documentary that premiered at Telluride this fall, This Is Not a Drill.