IN SEARCH OF A BETTER WORLD is the remarkable story of Payam Akhavan, one of the world’s leading human rights lawyers.  Born in Iran, Payam came to Canada at the age of nine with his family, because of persecution by the Islamic Republic against the Baha’i minority to which they belonged. Moved by the courage of a 16 year-old girl who was hanged for demanding her human rights, Payam committed his life in her memory to fight for justice for victims of genocide.  While still in his 20s, he became a UN prosecutor at The Hague, and investigated atrocities in Bosnia, Rwanda, Cambodia, and Guatemala.  He went on to become a renowned scholar and advocate in leading human rights cases before the world’s highest tribunals, including the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

Professor Akhavan was selected to deliver the prestigious CBC Massey Lectures in 2017 and crisscrossed Canada with his best-selling book ''In Search of a Better World''.  This documentary takes viewers on a dramatic journey from his childhood in Iran, to the World Court at The Hague and notably to the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh, as he builds a legal case against Myanmar's leadership for genocide and crimes against humanity.