The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has cancelled the screening of a documentary on the October 7 Hamas attacks, citing the filmmakers’ alleged failure to obtain “legal clearance” for footage filmed by the terrorists themselves — a decision condemned by Israeli officials, Jewish groups, and the film’s creators as both absurd and dangerous, reports The Times Of Israel.
The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, by Canadian director Barry Avrich, follows Maj. Gen. (res.) Noam Tibon’s dramatic mission to save his son, journalist Amir Tibon, and his family from Hamas’s assault on Kibbutz Nahal Oz. The film includes footage recorded by Hamas gunmen during their killing spree, in which more than a quarter of Nahal Oz’s 400 residents were murdered or kidnapped.
TIFF said the invitation was withdrawn because “general requirements for inclusion… including legal clearance of all footage” were not met, claiming the move also aimed to “mitigate anticipated… threat of significant disruption.” Sources told Deadline the festival feared legal action from Hamas over the use of the clips, and also sought editorial changes, title alterations, additional security, and legal indemnification from the filmmakers.
Line producer Talia Harris Ram dismissed the copyright argument as “a bit of a joke,” noting the material was livestreamed on October 7 and is “clearly in the public domain.” She accused TIFF of succumbing to predictable pressure, saying, “I knew something like this could happen.”
Noam Tibon called the move “absurd and bizarre,” accusing the festival of “silencing and erasing October 7.” He added: “The claim that the film cannot be screened because ‘permissions to use’ the footage of the Nukhba terrorists were not obtained is absurd… The atrocities committed by Hamas cannot be erased or denied.”
Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the decision as “vicious and sickening,” remarking: “This festival would have asked Hitler or Goebbels for copyright on Auschwitz footage.”
The Canadian Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said TIFF had “allowed a small group of extremists — using intimidation and threats of violence — to dictate which films Canadians can see,” calling it “shameful” and warning that it sends the message Toronto’s Jewish community is “no longer safe or welcome.”
Despite the cancellation, Toronto’s Jewish community plans to host a public screening of the film in early September.
Photo credit: Charlie Summers/Times of Israel
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