The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has withdrawn its invitation for a documentary about the October 7 massacre by Hamas, The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich, to be shown in the upcoming edition of the festival.
In mid-July, TIFF invited the filmmakers to show the documentary at the festival, subject to certain conditions, including a name change and the provision of certain legal documents. But when the full lineup was released earlier this week, the film was not included.
“On August 6, TIFF’s lawyer informed the producers that they wanted to see evidence of the indemnification, legal letter, and insurance certificate, and screen the film for a third time on August 8 to verify that TIFF’s required changes were made," according to Deadline. "On Monday, TIFF boss Cameron Bailey called the producers of The Road Between Us and asked them to withdraw the film. We’re told by all sources that the filmmakers refused.”
TIFF then officially disinvited the film.
The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue tells how retired Israel Defense Forces General Noam Tibon headed south as soon as he heard about the attack from his son, Haaretz reporter Amir Tibon, who was hiding from terrorists with his wife and daughters in their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
Fighting terrorists along the roads and helping wounded survivors of the Nova music festival, Tibon arrived at his son’s kibbutz and helped soldiers subdue the terrorists. Thirteen residents of the kibbutz were killed, and several more were kidnapped. The family’s story has been publicized in a report on the US news magazine 60 Minutes. Amir Tibon wrote a book about the attack, and Fauda creators Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff optioned the story for a drama film.
Issues in copyright reasoning behind film's disinvitation, TIFF says
Deadline reported that TIFF management cited problems with copyright in their decision to rescind their invitation. TIFF was quoted by Deadline as saying, “The invitation for the Canadian documentary film The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue was withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met, including legal clearance of all footage.
The purpose of the requested conditions was to protect TIFF from legal implications and to allow TIFF to manage and mitigate anticipated and known risks around the screening of a film about highly sensitive subject matter, including the potential threat of significant disruption.
“As per our terms and conditions for participation in the festival, TIFF may disqualify from participation in the Festival any Film that TIFF determines in its sole and absolute discretion would not be in TIFF’s best interest to include in the Festival.”
KAN News was more specific, quoting sources close to the film production team as saying that the problem was that the filmmakers "did not receive permission to use Hamas videos from their owners [the Nukhba terrorists],” and that because of these copyright issues, the filmmakers were required to indemnify the festival in case of a lawsuit.
The filmmakers told Deadline: “We are shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film. Ultimately, film is an art form that stimulates debate from every perspective that can both entertain us and make us uncomfortable. A film festival lays out the feast, and the audience decides what they will or won’t see.
"We are not political filmmakers, nor are we activists; we are storytellers. We remain defiant, we will release the film, and we invite audiences, broadcasters, and streamers to make up their own mind, once they have seen it.”
Thousands of news reports and multiple documentaries about the October 7 massacre have used footage recorded and broadcast by Hamas on many platforms. These documentaries include Yariv Mozer’s We Will Dance Again, which won an Emmy for Outstanding Current Affairs Documentary in late June.
Noah Shack, the CEO of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, a Canadian organization, released this statement concerning the festival’s decision to withdraw the film’s invitation:
"It is unconscionable that TIFF is allowing a small mob of extremists—who use intimidation and threats of violence—to dictate what films Canadians can see at the festival. This shameful decision sends an unmistakable message: Toronto’s Jewish community, which has long played an integral role at TIFF, is no longer safe or welcome. This should concern all Canadians, and marks a stain on the festival’s reputation. TIFF must reverse this decision immediately."
The Creative Community for Peace (CCFP) also released a statement on the decision: "The Toronto International Film Festival’s decision to pull The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue from this year’s festival is deeply disturbing. They are choosing to censor a Jewish story of survival and attempting to erase the experiences of survivors of the worst attack on Jews since the Holocaust.
"This decision is part of a growing trend of silencing Jewish and Israeli voices under the excuse of 'security concerns.' Rather than standing up to violent intimidation and protecting filmmakers, TIFF is rewarding those who threaten their lives.
"TIFF’s claim that the issue is 'clearance' for Hamas-filmed footage is absurd. Does anyone believe Hamas would authorize the use of evidence of its own war crimes? This is a pretext to bow to threats, protecting those who make them rather than those targeted by them. By silencing this film, TIFF abandons artistic freedom and sends the chilling message that some victims’ stories matter more than others. We call on TIFF to reverse its decision and stand for the principles it claims to uphold: artistic freedom, courage, and the right for every story to be told."
TIFF once welcomed many Israeli films, and the festival presented a cinematic tribute to Tel Aviv in 2009, the centennial of the founding of the city. But the number has been dwindling recently. This tribute sparked protests, including from celebrities such as Jane Fonda (who later retracted her support for the protest), but the festival did not back down and showed the films about Tel Aviv.
Last year, Shemi Zarhin’s movie, Bliss, a thoroughly apolitical drama about a couple in northern Israel, was shown at the festival, and its screening was interrupted by anti-Israel protesters. Deadline said that the “potential threat of significant disruption,” as mentioned by TIFF in its statement, played a part in the festival’s decision to withdraw the documentary’s invitation.
This year, only one Israeli film has been invited to take part in the festival, Or Sinai’s Mama, which will be shown in the Centrepiece section. A short dramatic film by Tawfeek Barhom, who is from Ein Rafa, a town in central Israel, called I’m Glad You’re Dead Now, will be shown in the short films competition at TIFF, but it is listed as a co-production from France, Greece, and Palestine.
The festival will be held between September 4-14.
The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue will be distributed in Canada by Cineplex.
Jerusalem Post Staff contributed to this report.