Nasty

Director: John Gerald Scaletta
Documentary Short
USA | 40 min

Nasty tells the story of Lt. Col. Daniel Nash, an F-15 pilot who was scrambled from Otis Air National Guard Base at supersonic speed on the morning of September 11, 2001, to intercept what was believed to be a hijacked commercial airliner. Although the attacks ended that day, their effects on Dan did not.

Through the voices of family members, close friends, and a fellow pilot, the film traces the quiet turbulence that followed. Disciplined, steady, and driven, Dan struggled with the aftermath of that morning—a weight he would carry for the rest of his life.

Shortly after his passing, his hometown of La Grange, Illinois, became the setting for a small act of remembrance. At the town’s 75th annual pet parade—a tradition Dan had loved since childhood—his 1984 high school classmates proudly built a scrappy float in his honor. What began as a simple tribute became a moment of reflection for a community beginning to understand the unseen cost of that day.

Woven from personal stories and a hometown’s remembrance, Nasty examines how the events of a single day can ripple through an entire life—and how understanding sometimes arrives years later.

Sometimes heroes answer the call.
Sometimes they need saving, too.

Screens in Shorts Program: Low Tide