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Ben Affleck’s Argo was the big winner at the Academy Awards. It was based on a nail-biting true story. In November 1979 Iranian students stormed the American embassy in Iran, taking more than 50 hostages. Six American diplomats who weren’t in the compound at the time took refuge in the residences of Ken Taylor, Canadian Ambassador to Iran, Ken Taylor and John Sheardown, Chief Immigration Officer. The six eventually escaped with fake Canadian passports posing as a film crew working on a hokey sci-fi flick called “Argo."
It was a great Hollywood adventure tale, but here’s the thing, it’s only part of the story. Argo downplays Taylor’s actual role in what’s historically known as The Canadian Caper. And Sheardown didn’t even make the cut in the film. Together, they personally sheltered the diplomats, put their lives on the line and helped mastermind the escape.
Now a new documentary called Our Man In Tehran, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival, aims to set the record straight by offering Taylor’s perspective on one of the most explosive events in history.
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