Entertainment industry leaders criticize TIFF's handling of October 7 film in open letter
'Not only did TIFF omit The Road Between Us from the initial slate announcement, but TIFF pressured its filmmakers to change the film's title—only to then cancel its participation. While the film has been reinstated after a significant public backlash, the festival has not offered a sincere apology or explanation for the harm it created for the Jewish community.
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'Furthermore, the initial claim that the project couldn't be screened because the filmmakers didn't have the rights to footage Hamas – a Canadian designated terrorist group, broadcast to the world on October 7, 2023, when they massacred, raped, brutalized, and kidnapped thousands of innocent people from toddlers
to Holocaust survivors — strains credibility.
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'As did the claim that the cancellation was for security reasons—when anti-Israel productions face no such barrier and instead of ensuring a safe environment, TIFF caved to these violent demands that only increased a sense that the Jews of Canada don't count.
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'This incident was clearly a surrender to an antisemitic campaign determined to silence Jewish and Israeli voices, at a time when antisemitism in Canada is surging to historic levels. TIFF's decisions this past week have only deepened and legitimized that hostility.
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'Documentaries and Film Festivals have the power to affect lives and effect positive change in the world.
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'They can bridge cultural divides and bring people together through a shared love of the arts.
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'We call on the Board of Directors to question the leadership of TIFF, to platform Israeli voices moving forward, and to choose dialogue over exclusion and peace over prejudice.'
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The press release that accompanied the letter stated that the people who signed it did so 'as individuals on their own behalf and not on behalf of their companies or organizations. All organizations and companies listed are for affiliation purposes only.'
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