Cameron Bailey, pictured at TIFF earlier this week, says of the Oct. 7 documentary: ‘I hope that people go in and appreciate the story that’s being told.’Kennedy Pollard/Getty Images
The second half of the Toronto International Film Festival is typically a more casual and relaxed affair, with most of the bigger Hollywood names and international press having left the city. Yet on Wednesday, TIFF will host one of the most headline-grabbing events in recent festival history, with the world premiere of Canadian director Barry Avrich’s documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue.
The film follows retired Israel Defense Forces Major-General Noam Tibon as he races from Tel Aviv to his son’s home on the Nahal Oz kibbutz near the Gaza border on Oct. 7, 2023, the day that Hamas militants attacked Israel. After TIFF initially accepted Avrich’s film into its 2025 lineup, the doc was pulled because, according to festival organizers at the time, “general requirements for inclusion in the festival” were not met.
Canadian director of Oct. 7 TIFF documentary The Road Between Us on festival’s reversal: ‘Watch the film, and make up your own mind’
Days later, following condemnation from Canadian politicians on the municipal, provincial and federal levels, as well as Jewish-advocacy organizations across the world, the film was reinstated into the festival’s lineup, with TIFF chief executive Cameron Bailey apologizing for not clearly articulating “the concerns and roadblocks that arose.”
Ahead of the film’s world premiere Wednesday afternoon at Roy Thomson Hall, TIFF’s largest venue, Bailey spoke exclusively with The Globe and Mail about the programming decisions behind the film, and the ensuing controversy’s impact on the organization.
Can you briefly walk me through the timeline, starting from when the film was first submitted to TIFF?
The film was submitted, went through the usual programming channels and was not selected initially. In the context of over 9,000 submissions this year, it just didn’t make the cut. I then heard that Barry wanted another look at it from us, and we arranged another screening. I think there’s real merit in the story being seen, and I made the decision to include the film in the festival.
However, with a documentary, especially one about a sensitive subject matter, we typically ask for a more thorough set of requirements. And as we were going through the process, we were running out of time to finalize the festival. There were some things the filmmakers were able to deliver quickly, and others not. At a certain point, we didn’t have everything that we requested, and that’s when I made the decision to reverse what I had originally said.
And I regret that, and it’s something that I know caused a lot of pain and hurt in the Jewish community in particular, and I apologize for that. So we worked quickly to resolve things with Barry and his team, and were able to come to a resolution. But in that time a lot of harm had been done, and a lot of misinformation was out there.
When a film is submitted and doesn’t make the cut, is it typical for you to go back and take a second look? Did the film receive any above-and-beyond consideration, given Barry’s history with TIFF, from serving on its board to philanthropically supporting the organization over the years?
It’s not unusual. I’m asked several times every year to look at films that members of our programming team, for various reasons, have chosen not to invite. I try not to get too involved in the programming process. I don’t have the context, for instance, of all the other documentaries that were submitted. But there are cases where I’m asked to give a second pair of eyes, and I’m also looking at different things. What I try to do, along with our chief of programming, is to have the context of the overall festival in mind, not just a specific section. That was the case here. I feel it’s an important film to show.
Going back to those terms and conditions: the reports that spread about the filmmakers needing to secure rights permission from Hamas for the live-stream footage of the attacks that day – can you break that down in reality?
At no point did we ask the filmmakers to seek approval or clearance from Hamas, a terrorist organization. That is, of course, something that we wouldn’t do. We were asking for assurances from the filmmakers themselves, and we got most of what we asked for.
What assurances did you not receive?
I don’t want to get too deep into this process, but it was essentially a kind of legal assurance that we did not fully have.
But the issues have been resolved fully enough so the film can be shown under the aegis of the festival?
Yeah, they have been. We’re happy with the resolution. It just took that time to work things out. And in that time there was a lot of other stories floating around.
There was an e-mail sent from your office to the filmmakers citing the doc’s withdrawal because of “the risk of major, disruptive protest actions around the film’s presence at the festival, including internal opposition.” Is there dissent inside the organization, particularly among the programming team, about this title’s selection?
Any time the CEO overrides a programming decision, that’s not an easy thing, and that’s certainly the case here. In terms of disruption, we know that the subject of the film is incredibly charged right now. There was a concern that there was a risk of the kind of disruption that we saw last year [with Russians at War], where it was very hard for parts of the festival to continue. So this was part of the context of the decisions I was making.
The festival’s opening weekend has already seen two sizable protests, ostensibly regarding this film’s programming. What are your thoughts on these demonstrations and what are the plans for safety and security at the Wednesday premiere?
This is the world we’re living in right now, and we’re a festival that will continue to show films from multiple perspectives about ongoing conflicts. That’s just the nature of films, and sometimes that will provoke protests. We respect and and will always appreciate the right to protest within the bounds of freedom of expression that doesn’t veer into hate speech. I can’t speak to security plans for the screening, which need to be kept confidential. But I’ll just say that, yes, we have been thinking and planning to make sure that the screening is conducted in a secure manner.
I’ll ask you the same question that I put to the filmmakers: What would you say to those, including artists with titles at this year’s festival, who contend that a festival such as Toronto should not program or platform a film about Israeli military action at a time when the war in Gaza is still raging, when authorities like the World Food Program report that the area is gripped by famine, when there are images coming out of Gaza every day that are devastating to look at?
This film is actually about what happened to a family on that day. I’ve seen it twice now, and it stays within those bounds. And because it does, I’m happy to screen it at our festival. I’m very aware and sensitive to the absolute humanitarian crisis that’s going on in Gaza right now. We also have films at the festival that deal with that. We want to make sure that, as a film festival, we are responsibly presenting films that reflect what is one of the worst crises in our world right now, and we’ll continue to do that.
Why did the film receive a single public screening and no press and industry screening? That’s not unprecedented, but it is atypical.
The thing to remember is that all of this happened after the selection of our festival was closed and locked. We were working within very limited parameters. And the one screening that we’re doing is several times larger than was originally being planned, and I hope that’s able to accommodate everyone, including the media, who want to see it.
What are your hopes for the premiere on Wednesday, which I understand you will introduce?
I’ll be introducing the film, yes. My understanding is that the filmmakers are going to get a journalist to moderate the Q&A session afterward. I hope that people go in and appreciate the story that’s being told. It’s important to make sure that we remain empathetic to everyone who is a victim of violence. Filmmakers sometimes are able to tell these stories in the most persuasive, affecting way. I think that’s the best we can hope for with the screenings at the festival.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
