Documentary on Air India bombing

TORONTO: A documentary about the Air India tragedy, the 22nd anniversary of which falls tomorrow, is set to be filmed from next month.

"Flight 182" will be directed by Canadian filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson and produced by David York. The pair on Thursday announced that they have signed a contract with CBC-TV, which is commissioning the piece.

"This is a critical film for our country," Gunnarsson, who also directed the epic film "Beowulf & Grendel", said.

"It was Canada's first devastating experience with international terrorism and we still haven't really come to terms with it," Gunnarsson said in a release here.

"We've heard about it in fragments of personal loss, conspiracy theory, erased surveillance tapes, bungled investigations and cultural divide but now, after 22 years, three trials and two commissions a coherent narrative has emerged. The time has come to tell this story."

The two-hour documentary will include interviews with those directly involved in the events, re-enactments and archival footage, an examination of intelligence and profiles of the victims.

A broadcast date is being worked out with CBC-TV for early 2008.

The film is being produced by 52 Media and Eurasia Motion Pictures with the participation of CBC-TV and The Canadian Television Fund.