In a study hall at the University of Alberta, Javad texts his wife Elnaz as she prepares to board Ukranian Airlines flight PS752 back to Canada after visiting her family in Iran. It’s their final communication, and Elnaz never arrives home.

Elnaz was one of 176 passengers aboard the passenger plane shot down by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran on January 8, 2020. In the aftermath of this event, Javad and a tight-knit crew of Iranian students studying in Edmonton banded together, and Dear Elnaz chronicles the grief and rage they experienced over the tragedy, and the solace they found within their community. “It hit all of us . . . I became unsafe with you,” a friend tells Javad, whose pain is shown unvarnished as he revisits the places he and Elnaz would spend their time together. From the other end of the world, Javad channels his anguish into a cry for justice, calling on the Iranian regime to finally be held accountable. -CN