Twenty-two years after 329 people died in the skies over the Atlantic Ocean, director Sturla Gunnarsson is tackling the ‘very difficult project’ of explaining what happened to Air India Flight 182 in a two-hour documentary for CBC.

‘It’s such a tough story to get a handle on,’ he says on the phone from Vancouver, where he is currently preparing interviews for Air India 182. ‘Part of the problem in the past was witnesses couldn’t come forward, testimony couldn’t be used, because everything was tied up in court cases… So until that was over, it was a very difficult project to get at.’ The trial of two men accused in the bombing ended in 2005. Both were found not guilty.

Gunnarsson (Beowulf & Grendel) says he was approached several times to do stories about the Air India disaster, but was never confident in the projects. He and producer David York (Gerrie & Louise), certain they could finally find a coherent narrative, pitched the project early last month to the CBC’s Mark Starowicz, head of documentary programming, who commissioned the film.

Production got underway June 23 in Toronto on the 22nd anniversary of the tragedy, which was the largest mass murder in Canadian history.

Gunnarsson says one of the biggest challenges in preparing for a documentary with sensitive subject matter is gaining people’s trust and convincing them that the story will be treated respectfully.

‘That involves talking to a lot of people, knowing the file, and being able to display to them that you are coming at it from an honest, respectful and intelligent place,’ he says.

In addition to Vancouver and Toronto, where most exteriors and studio work is being filmed, the crew will spend a couple of days filming in Ireland and Bombay in late summer. Air India 182 will be comprised of re-enactments, archival footage, profiles of the victims and interviews. DOP Tony Westman (Dead Like Me) will handle recreations, while interview segments will be shot by cinematographers Kirk Tougas (A Place Called Chiapas) and Michael Savoie (Frontline).

‘We’ll be shooting the interviews throughout the summer and then shooting dramatized portions in the fall,’ explains Gunnarsson, who would not disclose the budget of the film.

Audio post-production for Air India 182 will be done at Toronto’s Tattersall Sound and Picture, while video will be completed at Serial Digital Post in Toronto. The film, produced with the participation of the Canadian Television Fund, will be delivered to CBC in March, for broadcast in early 2008.