A documentary about the Air India tragedy, the 22nd anniversary of which falls on Saturday, is set to be filmed from next month.

Flight 182 will be directed by Canadian filmmaker Sturla Gunnarsson and produced by David York. The pair on Thursday announced that they have signed a contract with CBC-TV, which is commissioning the piece.

"This is a critical film for our country," Gunnarsson, who also directed the epic film Beowulf & Grendel, said.

"It was Canada's [Images] first devastating experience with international terrorism and we still haven't really come to terms with it," Gunnarsson said in a release in Toronto.

"We've heard about it in fragments of personal loss, conspiracy theory, erased surveillance tapes, bungled investigations and cultural divide but now, after 22 years, three trials and two commissions, a coherent narrative has emerged. The time has come to tell this story," Gunnarsson added.

The two-hour documentary will include interviews with those directly involved in the events, re-enactments and archival footage, an examination of intelligence and profiles of the victims.

A broadcast date is being worked out with CBC-TV for early 2008.

The film is being produced by 52 Media and Eurasia Motion Pictures with the participation of CBC-TV and The Canadian Television Fund.

On June 23, 1985, the bombing of Air India Flight 182 off the coast of Ireland claimed the lives of 329 people, while a second blast in a Tokyo airport killed two baggage handlers the same day.

An inquiry earlier this year began investigating the tragedy. The probe panel, before which 113 witnesses testified in 44 days, has adjourned the hearing until September.

Various memorial events are planned to honour the victims of the bombing of the Kanishka aircraft on Saturday.