Toronto Film Festival backflips on October 7 rescue film after claiming Hamas footage not cleared

The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) has reinstated a documentary on the Hamas October 7, 2023, attack after first saying it could not be shown because the terrorists’ own bodycam footage was not cleared for use by Hamas.

The filmmakers rejected the claim as absurd and TIFF later walked it back.

“The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue”, by Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich, tells the story of retired Israeli Major General Noam Tibon, who raced from Tel Aviv to Kibbutz Nahal Oz to save his son Amir, his family and others during the massacre. The documentary includes material filmed on Hamas bodycams during the assault, which killed about 1200 people and saw more than 240 kidnapped into Gaza.

Earlier this week, TIFF said it had withdrawn the film from its 2025 program because “general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially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 festival said this was to protect itself from potential legal implications and to manage “anticipated and known risks” linked to screening a film on such sensitive subject matter.

The filmmakers accused the festival of censorship and said asking for Hamas’s permission to use its own propaganda footage was beyond belief. They argued the film should be seen and judged by audiences rather than suppressed. Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar condemned the decision, comparing it to asking Hitler or Goebbels for copyright on Auschwitz material.

TIFF chief executive Cameron Bailey later apologised “for any pain this situation may have caused” and said he remained committed to working with the filmmakers to meet the legal and programming requirements. By Wednesday, the festival confirmed the film would go ahead after an agreement was reached. The 50th Toronto International Film Festival will run from September 4 to 14. TIFF rejected claims of political interference, saying the issue was about rights clearance and safety.

“The Road Between Us” focuses on Noam Tibon’s rescue mission on October 7, which was also profiled on “60 Minutes”. Amir Tibon and his wife, who survived the attack, visited Australia recently. In March of this year, Noam and Gali Tibon visited Australia for the UIA Progressive Appeal, speaking in Sydney and Melbourne about racing through danger to rescue their son during the attack. They also urged Israel to prioritise the release of hostages from Gaza and called for accountability over the failures that led to the massacre.

This is not the first time that a film about October 7 has met controversy. In November 2023, a private screening of the IDF’s “Bearing Witness to the October 7th Massacre” in Los Angeles sparked protests and clashes between pro‑Israeli and pro‑Palestinian demonstrators outside the Museum of Tolerance.  More recently, “Israelism”, a campus‑screened film, attracted an online campaign leading to cancellations at Hunter College before rescheduling with additional moderation.