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Toronto Film Festival Denies Blocking Oct. 7 Doc Over Censorship, Says Legal Team, Filmmaker Working to Screen It
Skyline of Toronto, Canada. Photo Credit: Aaron Davis, Wikimedia Commons, June 2020.
The CEO of the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) said late Wednesday that efforts are being made to ensure the screening of a documentary about the Hamas-led deadly massacre in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, after receiving backlash for removing the film from the festival’s lineup.
TIFF CEO Bailey Cameron also denied claims about censoring “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue.”
“I want to be clear: Claims that the film was rejected due to censorship are unequivocally false,” Bailey said in a released statement. “I remain committed to working with the filmmaker to meet TIFF’s screening requirements to allow the film to be screened at this year’s festival. I have asked our legal team to work with the filmmaker on considering all options available.”
The festival will run from Sept. 4-14, and the film is currently not listed on the festival’s official website.
The documentary from Canadian director Barry Avrich follows grandfather and retired IDF Maj. Gen. Noam Tibon as he rescues his family, including two granddaughters, from Hamas terrorists who invaded their home in Nahal Oz during the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack across southern Israel. Tibon also rescued survivors of the Nova Music Festival and helped wounded Israeli soldiers. His heroic efforts were highlighted by “60 Minutes” in October 2023. During the attack, Hamas murdered 1,200 civilians and took 251 others as hostages back to the Gaza Strip. Fifty hostages are still held captive by Hamas in Gaza.
Avi Issacharoff and Lior Raz, the co-creators and writers of the Israeli television series “Fauda,” revealed last year that they are scripting a film about Tibon’s heroism. Tibon has also written opinion pieces for The Algemeiner in previous years and his son published a book about Tibon’s rescue mission on Oct. 7.
Deadline revealed on Tuesday that “The Road Between Us” was removed from the lineup of films being screened at TIFF, because filmmakers did not have “legal clearance” to use footage terrorists themselves filmed while murdering thousands during their deadly rampage. Festival organizers told Deadline in a statement that the film was “withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met,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 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.”
Tibon called the decision “absurd and bizarre,” and accused TIFF of “succumbing to pressure and threats” to conceal the truth about what happened during the Oct. 7 attack. “The atrocities committed by Hamas cannot be erased or denied,” he added. The team behind “The Road Between Us” also slammed the reasoning, telling Variety in part: “We are shocked and saddened that a venerable film festival has defied its mission and censored its own programming by refusing this film.”
The move was also condemned by several Jewish groups – including StandWithUs Canada, the Canadian Centre for Jewish and Israeli Affairs, Combat Antisemitism Movement, and Friends of Simon Wiesenthal — and the pro-Israel entertainment industry organization Creative Community for Peace. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar also criticized the move in a post on X, saying there “was no ‘legal clearance’ from Hamas for their GoPro massacre videos.”
“This festival would have asked Hitler or Goebbels for copyright on Auschwitz footage,” said Sa’ar. “This vicious and sickening decision must be cancelled immediately!”
In a statement late Wednesday, Bailey rejected the censorship claims, saying that the misunderstanding “calls for compassion and sensitivity, and I recognize the concerns it has raised among members of the Jewish community and beyond.” He then apologized for “any pain this situation may have caused.”
“It was never my intention to offend or alienate anyone,” he said. “At TIFF, we believe in the transformative power of film to foster understanding and dialogue, especially during challenging times.”
“My intention was to screen ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue,’ which is why I extended the invitation for the film to participate in this year’s festival,” he added. “Given the sensitive and significant nature of the film’s subject, I believe that it tells an important story and contributes to the rich tapestry of perspectives in our lineup – stories that resonate both here at home and around the world … While we are not a political organization, TIFF will always strive to present our programming in a safe, inclusive environment.”
Bailey concluded by asking for “patience and understanding as we navigate this complex landscape.”
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.