What Really Happened in Iran
Five years ago this week, on the last day of Jimmy Carter 's and the first of Ronald Reagan 's presidency, a Boeing 727 of Air Algeria took off from Tehran's
Mehrabad Airport and flew out of Iran. On board were 52 American hostages, who had been held captive by the regime of the Ayatollah Khomeini for over 14 months Their ordeal began on 4 November 1979, when
Islamic zealots stormed the American Embassy in Tehran, initiating a major confrontation between the USA and Iran. Some
Americans, helped by the Canadian Ambassador and his staff, managed to escape The rest were forced to undergo a long and frightening imprisonment, in the course of which their captors played mental and emotional games with them and even submitted some of them to the horror of a mock execution.
444 Days to Freedom is the product of several years of intensive research by the British-bom Canadian film-maker Les Harris. It combines exclusive Iranian-shot footage from inside the American Embassy with first-hand accounts by a number of former hostages, including the American Charge d'Affaires Bruce Laingen.
Associate producer ANDREW JOHNSON
Director and producer LES HARRIS
A Canamedia production