Film showcases local victim of Flight PS752

By Mark Pavilons
Editor

The new year brings with it a sombre anniversary.
A documentary, to be released in January, highlights the lives of the Moghaddam family, tragic victims of the downing of Flight PS752.
Nobleton's Shahin Moghaddam lost his wife Shakiba, and their son Rossitin.
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was tragically shot down by two successive surface-to-air missiles of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC), shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport (IKA) on Jan. 8, 2020. All 177 passengers and crew were killed.
The documentary, filmed by Joseph Akrami, will be shown Sunday, Jan. 9, 2022.
Akrami said he initially followed some of the families of Flight PS752 victims and, especially Shahin, on social media.
“I saw some of the audio files and videos of his wife and son that he shared. After that my daughter Sara Akrami, who is also the movie's producer and has been working with some of the families of Flight PS752 victims for a while, connected me with Shahin. Ultimately, I decided to make a documentary about him. At the same time, I am considering to make movies about more families.”
Akrami said the effect of this atrocity committed by the Islamic Republic of Iran is so immense on families of Flight PS752 victims, and especially on Shahin.
“His love for his wife and son is so deep that it affected me. Therefore, I became motivated to show the significant change in his life before and after this terrorist attack.”
The making of “Broken by the Wind” was very difficult, Akrami admitted. He said at the outset of the process, and still today, “I still feel Shahin's tremendous suffrage.”
Akrami created a framework and initially wanted to take three camera men and the rest of the crew to the movie set. However, he immediately realized that the presence of the crew could make Shahin uncomfortable when it came to expressing his feelings with the camera.
“In order to overcome this situation, I decided to take no one to the set, except Shahin and me. This decision led to creation of a more relaxed environment for Shahin to express his feelings easily without being intimidated by the presence of the camera.”
Akrami said he was motivated by is the fact that Moghaddam strongly believes that Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, is the main person who committed this crime.
“I believe that Khamenei has taken the Iranian people hostage. He even makes decision for basic life aspects of the Iranian people; from choosing vaccination type to buying house appliances and other personal things. I believe someone who has basic understanding of the Islamic Republic of Iran's policies from 1979 until now, he or she shall recognize Khamenei as the primary person who committed this crime.”
Akrami further said that all passengers of Flight PS752 are victims of the Islamic Republic of Iran and IRGC's terrorism. And, as far as he knows, the majority of the families of the victims believe the same thing. True justice, he said, will be achieved when the perpetrators of this crime are held accountable at the International Criminal Court.
This documentary will be screened for the first time in Toronto with the presence of some of the families of Flight PS752 victims, Canadians and Canadians of Iranian origin. The interesting part is that Shahin himself will watch the movie for the first time as well. Later, it will be screened in other Canadian cities. The voice of America will also broadcast the documentary to Iran on the second anniversary.
It premiers Jan. 9 at the Richmond Hill Centre for the Performing Arts, from 5 to 7 p.m.
Akrami worked for 5 years in Iran's national television. Later, he left Iran for Germany then came to Canada. He has worked as a director and director of photography in many documentaries as well as Canadian films.
It is free to the public. Visit the link for more, https://tickets.rhcentre.ca/Online/default.asp