August 15, 2025

My husband and I are movie buffs to such a degree that, on our first date, we spent more time talking about My Cousin Vinnie than it takes to watch the entire film. When we moved to Toronto, it was inevitable that we would one day become members of the Toronto International Film Festival. It’s quite exciting to live in a city that houses such a cultural icon and I’ve always proudly delighted in the mention of TIFF in international news.

Sadly, this week has changed everything. TIFF news has reached Australia, Europe, and Israel, but this time there is no delight, no pride, only outrage. Barry Avrich, a wonderful Canadian filmmaker who was a High Holy Day speaker at The Song Shul a few years ago, had his newest film The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue cancelled from the line-up of 2025 TIFF screenings. The film tells the October 7 story of Major General (res.) Noam Tibon, who went to save his son and his son’s family from the Hamas terrorist attacks at their home on Kibbutz Nahal Oz.

The reason given for the film cancellation was absolutely ludicrous. TIFF claimed that Avrich’s team had not received legal clearance to use Hamas’s videos of the attack on October 7th, and the festival organizers feared a potential lawsuit. That almost sounds like a joke, and I can’t imagine the meeting when they came up with this. We’re talking about the revolting videos that Hamas terrorists proudly broadcast on October 7th. Really, TIFF?

As you might expect, the global Jewish community expressed its outrage, which led to the chair of TIFF first issuing an apology of sorts, and ultimately re-instating the film to the festival line-up. Knowing how the Jewish community supports the arts, not only in this city but worldwide, I can only imagine how many TIFF donors pulled their support or cancelled their subscriptions. 

Now, with the film back in the festival, many proud Jews and film-lovers are letting out a collective sigh of relief. I’m afraid that I do not join them. Yes, it’s good that the film is going to be screened. But it should never have been cancelled in the first place. Oh, and the footnote to this is that TIFF has included five Palestinian-Arab films that are on Hamas’s side. Simply disgusting as far as I’m concerned.

I will not be renewing our subscription to TIFF and I will be sending a letter explaining why. In show business, there’s no such thing as bad publicity, so I have no doubt that the screening will be sold out. I hope to see Barry’s new film. I am grateful that he made it so that the world would know this incredible story of heroism. I am glad that the Jewish voices were heard (even if they were heard through the sound of dollar bills rustling), and I will continue to speak up whenever someone tries to censor or silence us. I hope you’ll be joining me.

Am Yisrael Chai!