Toronto Film Festival outrageously cuts October 7 documentary because Hamas didn't give footage permission: ‘Absurd and bizarre'

Sky News AU

3 days ago

A new documentary about the October 7, 2023, attack on Israel by Hamas has been booted from the Toronto International Film Festival — because organizers insist the filmmakers need the rights from the terrorist group to use their horrific footage of the massacre.
The festival claims the movie, called 'The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,' did not meet certain requirements to screen at the prestigious September event, widely attended by Hollywood stars and bigwigs, including not securing so-called 'legal clearance' to use Hamas' live-streamed video of the rape, murder and kidnapping of Jews.
The stunned filmmakers, including Canadian director Barry Avrich, slammed the decision, telling Deadline that TIFF has 'defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film.'
Avrich declined to comment further.
'The Road Between Us' tells the story of retired Israel Defense Forces General Noam Tibon, who set out to save his family and others during Hamas' deadly attack, in which 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage.
It includes widely seen videos taken by the terrorists of their murders of Israelis at the Nova music festival and in nearby communities.
While TIFF alleges they required permission from Hamas to use the footage, the documentary's line producer, Talia Harris Ram, told the Times of Israel that their rationale was ridiculous.
'The topic of creators' rights is something I work with regularly,' she said. 'There's no legal problem with showing these clips, which were already streamed live on October 7. From an intellectual property standpoint, they are clearly in the public domain.'
The Post has also learned the film had insurance that protected both its creators and the festival from potential lawsuits.
Some sources told Deadline the festival pulled the doc out of concern that potential anti-Israel protests would form in crowded downtown Toronto.
The bottom of TIFF's statement suggests that's the case, citing the 'potential threat of significant disruption' due to a documentary concerning 'highly sensitive subject matter.'
TIFF did not respond to The Post's request for further comment.
The 'Road Between Us' filmmakers said they tried to meet TIFF's demands.
For instance, the trade reported the festival asked the filmmakers to change the movie's title from 'Out of Nowhere' to 'The Road Between Us.' They complied with the request.
But their invitation was nonetheless snatched back on Monday.
Sources told The Post that, after backlash resulting from the film's removal, the TIFF board of directors planned a meeting to discuss the fallout.
The 'Road Between Us' team insisted they were only depicting a man's story — a man who was also profiled on '60 Minutes.'
'We are not political filmmakers, nor are we activists; we are storytellers,' they said in their statement. '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.'
Deadline reported that the documentary's producers were asked by TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey to voluntarily withdraw, but they refused.
Tibon, the doc's subject, decried the cancellation.
'The festival management's claim that the film cannot be screened because 'permissions to use' the footage of the Nukhba terrorists were not obtained is absurd and bizarre, and constitutes further harm to the victims,' he told the Times of Israel.
'My message to the festival management: The truth cannot be erased. The atrocities committed by Hamas cannot be erased or denied.'
Originally published as Toronto Film Festival outrageously cuts October 7 documentary because Hamas didn't give footage permission: 'Absurd and bizarre'