Just released in Irish cinemas, the Swiss filmmaker's true-life thriller takes place almost entirely inside the TV control room and sees the Munich-based sports crew from US broadcaster ABC follow the story, as they are on air when the gunfire begins in the Olympic Village.
During the 1972 crisis, 11 members of the Israeli team and a West German police officer were killed. Five of the hostage-takers from the Palestinian militant organisation Black September were shot dead during a failed rescue attempt.
"In preparation [for the film], I went to sports control rooms, just to see, to observe how they cover these games, how the dynamics are between the crew - just little gestures. I was soaking up everything.
"And so now, if I see a sports broadcast, I see [it] completely different. I know the whole apparatus behind it.
"But also, if I see news nowadays, I have to say my respect has only grown for people that are doing this.
"People told us that are working in today's newsroom[s] [that] they are dealing with the same questions that we are asking in our movie every day - and it's sometimes probably not easy."
"I was surprised how many people actually didn't know how it ended or not exactly how it ended," he said.
"A lot of people know what was happening but not how it ended, while what I realised most people would remember is that image of the masked man, the black-and-white image of the masked man on the balcony.
"That, in a way, said something for us about the topic of our film, the power of images, right? How this can stick in the head while the political context maybe less [so]."
September 5 is in cinemas now.
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