The Toronto International Film Festival rescinded its invitation to screen Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich’s “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” documentary about the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks in Israel, according to media reports.
“The invitation for the Canadian documentary film ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue’ was withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the Festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met,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,” TIFF said in a Wednesday statement to Screen Daily.
“First and foremost, I would like to express my sincere apologies for any pain this situation may have caused,” TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey said in a statement Wednesday. “It was never my intention to offend or alienate anyone. At TIFF, we believe in the transformative power of film to foster understanding and dialogue, especially during challenging times. ”
It continued: “My intention was to screen ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,’ which is why I extended the invitation for the film to participate in this year’s festival. Given the sensitive and significant nature of the film’s subject, I believe that it tells an important story and contributes to the rich tapestry of perspectives in our lineup – stories that resonate both here at home and around the world. 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.”
“The Road Between Us” was notably not featured in the initial 2025 documentary line-up for next month’s festival. The film follows retired Israel Defense Forces General Noam Tibon as he tries to save his two granddaughters from the 2023 terrorist attacks, helping multiple survivors of the Nova Music Festival massacre and wounded IDF soldiers in the process.
“We are shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film,” the filmmakers told Deadline on Tuesday. “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.”
In response, the Creative Community for Peace issued the following statement, urging TIFF to reverse its 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 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.”
TheWrap has reached out to TIFF for further comment.
The 2025 Toronto International Film Festival is set to run Sept. 4-14.
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