At the close of a calamitous century, a frightful disaster struck at the point where Europe and Asia intersect and the political, cultural and economic rift that already separated two continents doubled in depth. Nature shuddered in anger. And as if to take revenge for ugly dwellings built on fertile fields, for filled-in seas, for ravaged forests, forty thousand people in western Turkey were crushed to death beneath flimsy buildings unable to withstand the shaking. Wounded, crippled, orphaned, or homeless, the “luckier” ones escaped that 45-second long hell. They were saved not so much by divine providence or a sturdy building as by question resounding in the pitch darkness:”ANYBODY THERE ?” ANYBODY THERE ? is a documentary about humanity. Not just an account of the tragic stories of human beings crushed under the biggest disaster of the century, it documents an extraordinary mobilization of a multinational rescue force that was voluntarily undertaken. ANYBODY THERE? is a documentary about solidarity. Each life from beneath the earth after a long night’s morning bears witness to an ancient hatred buried in its stead. And finally, ANYBODY THERE? is a documentary shouting an urgent need that this earthquake has laid bare: the need for an International Volunteer Rescue Force, to organize and equip the sacred efforts of volunteers who come running to the aid of disaster victims. ANYBODY THERE? gives voice to the reassuring reply shouted to a question asked by the helpless inhabitants of our Global Village in the millennium’s final hours . “Yes…We’re here..!”