WASHINGTON, May 17 (UPI) -- Another atrocity comparable to, or even worse than, the massacre of schoolchildren at Beslan will happen in the future, the chief reporter in a film on the tragedy says.
"I think the monstrous imagination (of the terrorists) means that the next time it will only be bigger," Jonathan Sanders, an expert on Russia and former CBS News Moscow correspondent, told United Press International.
Sanders spent the fall of 2004 reporting on the aftermath of the Beslan siege for his film.
The new documentary about the three-day siege on an elementary school in Beslan, Russia, by Chechen terrorists in September 2004 reveals never-before-seen footage shot by the Chechen terrorists contained in a video camera found in the rubble.
"Three Days in September" is a brutal glimpse into the last hours of the 331 people -- 176 of them children -- who perished after suffering three days without food, water or access to toilet facilities. Narrated by Julia Roberts, it opens with 16-year-old Dariya Fadeeva, the older sister of one of the hostages, giving a guided tour of Beslan. Fadeeva, who speaks English and studied abroad in Texas, stayed with Sanders during New York's Tribeca Film Festival and was there when the film debuted.
Sanders said his and Fadeeva's visit to a Brooklyn elementary school reminded them of how easily a Beslan-like catastrophe could happen.
A security guard at the door of the Brooklyn school requested identification, but "nothing would have stopped a group of terrorists taking over that school," he said.
In Russia, Sept. 1 marks the celebration of the first day of the school year. In honor of this "day of knowledge," children dress up, carry bouquets of flowers and parade into school.
On Sept. 1, 2004, 32 heavily-armed Chechen terrorists, including five women, attacked Beslan's School Number One, taking nearly 1,200 students, teachers and parents hostage.
Sanders watched the live footage on television.
"I was absolutely horrified because for many years I had liked to take pictures of the kids behind my house in Moscow on the first day of school. It's essentially something I wish Americans would adopt," he said.
The terrorists demanded an immediate pullout of Russian troops from Chechnya, a Russian territory which declared its independence in 1991. Chechnya's independence is not recognized by any other country. In 1994-96 and from 1999 on, the Russian army and Chechen secessionist rebels have been engaged in ferocious fighting. At least 100,000 people are believed to have been killed in the conflict.
In the film, the terrorists argue that since the Russians killed their families, friends and children, they feel no sympathy for the hostages.
In the three days that followed, the 1,200 hostages sat practically on top of each other in the school gym, where temperatures hovered around the 100 degree mark.
The terrorists didn't allow the hostages to go to the bathroom and gave them no food or water. Several explosive devices were suspended above the heads of hostages using basketball hoops.
When Joe Halderman, the film's writer, producer and director, and executive producer Susan Zirinsky sent Sanders to cover the aftermath, they told him: "stay as long as you can stand it."
It's good advice for viewers, too.
The film is "not pleasant to watch," Sanders admits. "It makes me cry sometimes but that doesn't mean it's not important."
Some of the most gripping scenes come from video footage of the day from the camera of one of the hostages, which the terrorists used to record events.
They reveal the bodies of dead hostages piled outside a classroom and "black widow" suicide bombers blown apart by the explosives strapped to their bodies. Mothers wail as they leave behind older children when given the chance to leave with "nursing" babies.
The film has already made an impact.
"People have been wrecked in the audience," Sanders said of the film's Tribeca debut.
Russia is currently "on very high alert" because the trial of the only surviving terrorist, 25-year-old Nurpashi Kulayev, is coming to an end. The verdict phase, which in Russia can take several days, could finish as early as this Friday.
"Unrest is spreading," Sanders said. "Everyone's waiting for the next shoe to drop."
Many in Beslan are angry with their government for not having done more. The first official Russian reports claimed there were only 354 hostages, when townspeople knew there were more than 1,200 trapped inside.
"The Russian government has become increasingly repressive (since)," Sanders said. "The Russian media is being suppressed. The United States isn't doing a whole lot," he said.
He said he hopes the film will help make up for the lack of American media coverage.
When the siege took place, the American media was focused on the Republican National Convention in New York City. On the first anniversary, Hurricane Katrina dominated the headlines in the U.S. press.
The film premiered on cable channel Showtime on Thursday night.
