Farabi to produce film on tragedy of Iran Air Flight 655

TEHRAN,July 4(MNA) – Iran’s Farabi Cinematic Foundation will be producing a movie on downing of Iran Air Flight 655 by the U.S. battleship Vincennes in the near future. Entitled “An Elegy for a Friend”, the movie is due to be directed by filmmaker Saeid Asadi; and producer Qasem Qolipur is scheduled to take helm of the project. The U.S. Navy guided missile cruiser USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655 over the Persian Gulf on July 3, 1988, killing all 290 passengers and crew members, including 66 children. The U.S. government refused to apologize for the incident, claiming that the crew had mistaken the Iranian Airbus A300 for an attacking F-14 Tomcat fighter. The final screenplay written by Asadi was handed to Farabi Managing Director Ahmad Mir-Alaii here on Monday, the report added. The report has provided no more details on the project yet. Every year, Iranian officials and citizens gather near the site of the incident in the Persian Gulf to remember the victims by throwing flowers into the waters of the sea.