Air India documentary screened at Hot Docs festival

Air India 182, a new Canadian documentary based on the 1985 airliner bombing that claimed 329 lives, made its world premier at prestigious Hot Docs festival, Toronto. The documentary, which was screened at the festival on Friday, offers a first-person account of the conspiracies leading up to the attack on the airliner and the roles Canadian Security Intelligence Service (CSIS) and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) played in its aftermath.

It also includes interviews with the victim's families and some high-ranking CSIS officials.

'Air India 182' has "profound implications about the way we think of ourselves and the society we live in," filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson, who has written and directed it, said.

Hot Docs -- the 15th Canadian International Documentary Festival -- kicked off on Thursday night.

Canadians need to wake up to the history of the tragedy of Air India flight 182, "the most deadly incident of air terrorism before 9/11," Gunnarsson said.

"The conspiracy was Vancouver-based, most of the victims were Canadian and it has profound implications about the way we think of ourselves and the society we live in.

I hope this film goes some way toward distilling a very complex story and giving a voice to the Air India families, who are among the most graceful and dignified people I've ever met," he said.