98 minutes – Documentary
Language: English, Farsi with English subtitles
Festival release date: September 9, 2022 – TIFF (World Premiere)
Release date: December 9, 2022
Production company: Payami Films Inc.
Canadian distributor: Mongrel Media

752 Is Not a Number follows Toronto dentist Hamed Esmaeilion’s 2½-year struggle to uncover the truth behind the missile attacks that downed Ukrainian Flight PS752 shortly after its takeoff from Tehran on January 8, 2020, killing all 176 on board. The victims included Hamed’s wife Parisa and nine-year-old daughter Reera, who were flying back from a quick trip to attend Parisa’s sister’s wedding. Within hours, Hamed is on a plane to Tehran – although trepidatious, given that he’s also a rising star in the contemporary Iranian literary scene with some of his novels banned by the Iranian government. Two weeks later, Hamed returns to Toronto with his family’s remains, determined to get justice for all of the families who are united by a common pain. As he becomes the spokesperson for the Association of Families of Flight PS752 Victims, he holds the microphone. But Hamed finds himself caught in a web of geopolitical intrigue, international politics, legal complexities, detractors and informants.

752 Is Not a Number was second runner up for the People’s Choice Documentary Award at TIFF 2022.