The Flight
On January 8, 2020, Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 departed Tehran carrying 176 passengers and crew members, including university students, newlywed couples and young children. Minutes after takeoff, the civilian aircraft was struck by two surface-to-air missiles, killing everyone on board. Iranian authorities attributed the downing to human error—an explanation the victims’ families never accepted. Director Soran Mardookhi’s feature documentary The Flight follows the experiences of those left behind. For the families, this was not the end of the tragedy but the beginning of a journey that would forever change their lives. If grief first brought them together, solidarity and a shared search for truth provided a purpose. Parents, spouses, siblings and grandparents with no background in activism, politics or international law suddenly found themselves building a national organization, navigating years of complex legal proceedings and bringing their fight for justice to international courts and institutions in their relentless pursuit of truth and accountability. Home videos filled with music, dancing and laughter offer intimate glimpses of life before the loss. Alongside the search for justice, the film quietly observes the ways in which love and memory are carried forward, whether it’s organizing a 5K run, adopting a new dog or creating art. More than the story of a civilian airliner brought down, The Flight is the saga of ordinary people who discover a strength they never imagined they possessed.