Toronto film festival 'pulls October 7 documentary because Hamas did not give permission to use bodycam footage'
The festival was set to show 'The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue', directed by Barry Avrich, which follows the story of retired IDF general Noam Tibon during and after the attack that saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage.
Israel 's Foreign Minister, Gideon Sa'ar, has slammed the organisers, and likened cancelling the film due to a lack of Hamas 'clearance' to asking for Adolf Hitler's approval for Auschwitz footage, reported i24NEWS.
The festival had originally approved the film, which follows Tibon on his mission to save his son, his wife and two daughters as they were attacked by Hamas-led terrorists at their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz on October 7.
The documentary uses bodycam footage filmed by the terrorists themselves during the massacre, which was the single deadliest day in Jewish history since the Holocaust.
The film was pulled by TIFF due to the prospect of disruptive anti-Israel protests at the festival, which will run from September 4-14, as well as concerns about copyright, Deadline reported.
'The invitation for the Canadian documentary film "The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue" was withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met,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,' the organisers said in a statement.
'The purpose of the requested conditions was to protect TIFF from legal implications and to allow TIFF to manage and mitigate anticipated and known risks around the screening of a film about highly sensitive subject matter, including potential threat of significant disruption.
'As per our terms and conditions for participation in the festival, 'TIFF may disqualify from participation in the Festival any Film that TIFF determines in its sole and absolute discretion would not be in TIFF's best interest to include in the Festival.'
Tibon, an ex-IDF general and a staunch critic of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's judicial overhaul, drove from his Tel Aviv home to southern Israel on the morning of October 7 to help the communities attacked on the border.
Since that day, he has been vocal about his opposition to the Israeli government.
The filmmaking team behind the documentary told Deadline: 'We are shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film.
'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.'
Reacting to the film's cancelation, the documentary's subject Tibon said it was 'absurd and outrageous'.
The documentary follows the story of retired IDF general Noam Tibon during and after the attack that saw around 1,200 people killed and 251 taken hostage
'The Toronto festival surrendered to pressure and threats, choosing to silence and erase October 7.
'Barry Avrich's documentary tells a human, not political, story, documenting the grim reality of Israel's darkest day. The claim that it cannot be screened because it lacks "usage rights" for Hamas footage from that day is absurd and outrageous - and an insult to the victims.
'Freedom of expression is the courage to present and hear challenging content, even if it is uncomfortable for some audiences.'
Last year, TIFF received backlash from Ukrainian activists because of its antiwar documentary 'Russians at War', which was labelled Russian propaganda by its critics.
The festival cancelled the film's screening before showing it days later with heightened security.
Pro-Palestinian activists also disrupted Israeli filmmaker Shemi Zarhin's film, 'Hamada', while Israeli demonstrators, critical of the government, picketed Alexandra Bloom's screening of 'The Bibi Files' about Netanyahu using leaked interrogation footage.
'The Road Between Us' was originally invited to play at TIFF subject to certain conditions, including changing its name from 'Out of Nowhere: The Ultimate Rescue', and getting legal clearance to use footage filmed and livestreamed by Hamas terrorists, Deadline reported.
The filmmakers were asked to confirm clearance of the footage, provide a letter of indemnification - legally accepting liability for any copyright violations - as well as well provide added security for the screening.
When the documentary team reportedly did not comply with the conditions, producers got an email formally uninviting the film from the festival by TIFF boss Cameron Bailey on August 12.
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