The festival ‘has succumbed to pressure and threats, and has chosen to silence and erase October 7,’ the documentary’s subject says
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has canceled its screening of a documentary about Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack on Israel, ostensibly citing a lack of “legal clearance” for footage filmed by Hamas terrorists, according to a Tuesday report.
The festival claims to have withdrawn its invitation for the Canadian documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue because the filmmakers did not meet its general requirements, “including legal clearance of all footage,” a spokesperson told Deadline. The documentary, originally set to air at the festival next month, shows how retired Israel Defense Forces general Noam Tibon rescued his family members and others during the October 7 attack, featuring video clips that Hamas terrorists recorded when they committed the massacre.
“Filmmakers were told they had to make editorial changes specifically identifying horrific footage that was livestreamed by Hamas on October 7, 2023, footage that had already been seen publicly,” Deadline reported.
Sources told Deadline that the film festival was also concerned over “potential risks of disruptive protests at this year’s festival.” The event runs from September 4 to September 14.
The Canadian Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs agreed that the real reason for the cancellation is the festival’s fear of anti-Semitic protesters. “It is inconceivable that TIFF allows a small group of extremists—using intimidation and threats of violence—to dictate which films Canadians can see at the festival,” the group said in a statement to the Times of Israel.
Festival organizers made an increasing number of demands on the filmmakers as the festival approached. “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‘s report. The organization’s CEO, Cameron Bailey, then asked the documentary’s producers to withdraw the film, which they refused. In response, Bailey on Tuesday officially canceled the proposed screening and disinvited the filmmakers.
The documentarians and Tibon slammed the cancellation, with Tibon telling the Times that the “legal clearance” claims is “absurd and bizarre” and “constitutes further harms to the victims” of October 7.
“The Toronto Film Festival has succumbed to pressure and threats, and has chosen to silence and erase October 7,” he went on. “My message to the festival management: The truth cannot be erased. The atrocities committed by Hamas cannot be erased or denied.”
Read the full article here
