The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Thursday night officially announced that it had reversed its controversial decision to pull a film depicting the October 7 Hamas massacre in southern Israel.
The film, “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue”, directed by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich, chronicles the extraordinary actions of retired Israel Defense Forces General Noam Tibon. On October 7, Tibon risked his life to save his son and his son’s family, who were under siege by Hamas terrorists at their home in Kibbutz Nahal Oz.
The initial cancellation of the film’s screening sparked outrage, with critics accusing TIFF of silencing a vital narrative. TIFF cited the lack of legal clearance for footage filmed by Hamas during the massacre as one of the reasons for its decision to cancel the screening of the documentary.
In an official statement, TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey and Avrich said that the film would be screened at TIFF.
“Over the past 24 hours, there has been much discussion about TIFF's decision to withdraw its invitation to The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue for this year's festival. Both TIFF and the filmmakers have heard the pain and frustration expressed by the public and we want to address this together,” the statement said.
“We have worked together to find a resolution to satisfy important safety, legal, and programming concerns. We are pleased to share that The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue will be an official TIFF selection at the festival this year, where we believe it will contribute to the vital conversations that film is meant to inspire.”
“In this case, TIFF's communication around its requirements did not clearly articulate the concerns and roadblocks that arose and for that, we are sorry.”
“Both TIFF and the filmmakers have always been committed to presenting diverse perspectives and a belief in the power of storytelling to spark and encourage dialogue and understanding. We thank our audiences and community for their passion, honesty, and belief in the importance of film. We look forward to announcing more details including the World Premiere date on August 20th,” concluded the statement.
Earlier the Toronto Sun reported that TIFF had reversed its decision following a wave of international condemnation and intense negotiations.
Board member John Ruffolo confirmed to the newspaper that the matter “is all resolved” and that the film “will be exhibited as planned and even bigger than originally.”
The reversal came after mounting pressure on TIFF leadership, with calls for resignations and threats to both public and private sponsorships.
Bailey, who had approved the initial decision, faced sharp criticism from across Canada and abroad.
Canada’s Jewish advocacy organizations condemned the move, which was also covered prominently by The New York Post and discussed on Fox News.
Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also ripped TIFF and said, “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.”
Bailey on Wednesday night released a statement in which he denied that TIFF was censoring the film.
"I want to be clear: claims that the film was rejected due to censorship are unequivocally false. I remain committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF's screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year's festival. I have asked our legal team to work with the filmmaker on considering all options available."
Behind closed doors, according to the Sun, the TIFF board convened Thursday in what one source described as a “heated” meeting. A compromise was ultimately brokered with input from director Barry Avrich, TIFF Chair Jeffrey Remedios, former Toronto Mayor John Tory, and prominent Jewish community leaders Heather Reisman and Henry Wolfond.
Elected officials at both federal and provincial levels also weighed in. Toronto City Councillors Brad Bradford and James Pasternak had earlier demanded TIFF reverse what they called a “misguided decision.”
“I’m relieved that TIFF has reversed its decision and will now screen this important film. This is the right call,” said Bradford on Thursday. “But the fact it was ever pulled - silencing a Canadian filmmaker and granting legal legitimacy to a listed terrorist organization - is deeply troubling. It should not have taken a public outcry to correct this mistake.”
Bradford added that TIFF’s leadership owes an apology to the filmmaker and the public.
“TIFF now needs to do some serious self-examination. The organization’s leadership needs to ensure that something like this is never repeated. And, equally, they need to account to the public for how this appalling decision happened in the first place - for the simple reason that TIFF receives millions of dollars from the taxpayer.”