Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar on Wednesday ripped the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) after it banned a film on the October 7, 2023 Hamas massacre, claiming it did not have the rights to footage filmed by Hamas terrorists during the massacre.
“Toronto International Film Festival just cancelled the screening of a film about the October 7 massacre because there was no ‘legal clearance’ from Hamas for their GoPro massacre videos. This festival would have asked Hitler or Goebbels for copyright on Auschwitz footage,” Sa’ar wrote in a post on X.
“Of course, the festival is about to screen five Palestinian films. This vicious and sickening decision must be cancelled immediately!” he added.
The film in question is called “The Road Between Us - The Ultimate Rescue”. Created by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich, it documents the rescue actions of Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon during the October 7 massacre, as he set out to save his son, journalist Amir Tibon, and his son’s family as they were attacked by terrorists at their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
It is estimated that the decision was made following pressure from anti-Israel organizations and fears of demonstrations and unrest during the festival.
Tibon responded to the decision and said, "Toronto Festival yielded to pressures and threats, and chose to silence and erase the massacre. Director Barry Avrich's documentary brings a human story to the screen, not a political one, and documents the harsh reality on the worst day in the history of the State of Israel."
He added, "My message to the festival's management: the truth cannot be erased. The atrocities committed by Hamas cannot be erased or denied. The festival management's claim that the film cannot be screened because 'usage approvals' were not obtained for Hamas footage from that terrible day is absurd and bizarre, and constitutes further harm to the victims of that terrible day."
"Freedom of expression is the courage to screen and voice things that are challenging and uncomfortable to certain audiences. TIFF, which this year screens films from a Palestinian perspective, but censors a film about the massacre from an Israeli perspective, has failed a grave moral test. Despite the timidity of the festival's directors, I am proud to say the film will be screened in Toronto, before a broad audience that will be exposed to the truth about the massacre. I thank director Barry Avrich for his courage, and together we will work to bring the film to millions of people around the world," said Tibon.