9/11 craziness in Angelo Guglielmo's docu-mentary THE WOMAN WHO WASN'T THERE

Among the many 9/11 tales of hardship and heroism, this one -- THE WOMAN WHO WASN'T THERE -- stands tall -- if only as the tallest tale of them all: the story of New Yorker "Tania Head" (née Alicia Esteve of Barcelona), who conned New York and much of the world into believing her totally fabricated story of being a World Trade Center survivor.

Writer/filmmaker Angelo Guglielmo, above, had surprising access to Ms Head/Esteve (shown below) and to many other survivors and relatives of same, and from this he has put together a fascinating account of the hoax and its aftermath. Building his story methodically and smartly, the filmmaker is at the same time building suspense.  Most of us will know what happens, but not especially the "how" and "when," and it is these that make the documentary so riveting.

Unfortunately, just when the film should start to percolate, it ends. What happens after that last shot? We need to know, but whether we'll find out in some follow-up, or not at all, is left hanging.  As The Woman Who Wasn't There is but a mere 65 minutes in length, one might reasonably question why it is being shown solo in a theatrical venue. Not that those minutes aren't worth watching. But they cry out for more.

The film opens today in New York City at the Quad Cinema -- three showings daily -- before appearing on cable TV this coming Tuesday, April 17, at 8pm (EDT) on a channel/program that I had not heard of previously: ID Investigation Discovery.  To learn where and how you can access this channel, click here and then enter your zip code and TV service provider.