Entertainment industry leaders criticize TIFF’s handling of October 7 film in open letter

More than 1,000 entertainment leaders have signed an open letter released by the non-profit entertainment industry organization Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) critiquing how the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) handled the film, The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue.

The letter is a response to TIFF’s disinviting the film but then offering to work with the filmmakers, following a public backlash. TIFF later announced it would be an official festival selection.

“This incident is not an anomaly—it is part of a disturbing pattern that has emerged since October 7th, in which Israeli and Jewish creatives in film, television, music, sports, and literature are confronted with barriers no other community is made to face. The deliberate effort to marginalize and silence Jewish voices in the arts worldwide is intolerable, and it cannot be allowed to persist,” says CCFP executive director Ari Ingel.

Some of the letter signatories include: Amy Schumer, actress; Debra Messing, actress; Mayim Bialik, actress; Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount Pictures; Rebecca De Mornay, actress; Jennifer Jason Leigh, actress; Howie Mandel, TV host; Jerry O’Connell, actor; former chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming; Jonathan Baruch.

To see the full list of signees, visit: CCFPeace.org/?TIFF

Here is the full text of the letter:

“We, the undersigned members of the entertainment industry, are deeply concerned about the Toronto International Film Festival’s (TIFF) initial decision to disinvite the documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue, and its subsequent communications. This is the only documentary scheduled for this year’s program that puts forward Israel’s narrative.

“This follows the 2024 festival, which likewise didn’t platform a single Israeli documentary that didn’t disparage the country. In contrast, TIFF 2024 featured three anti-Israel documentaries, with four more slated for 2025.

“Last year, Creative Community for Peace and other entertainment industry leaders urged TIFF leadership to provide a platform for Israeli and Israeli-themed projects. TIFF leadership “assured” us they would do so “even in difficult times like this.” That assurance was apparently a lie.

“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.

“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 toddlersto Holocaust survivors — strains credibility.

“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.

“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.

“Documentaries and Film Festivals have the power to affect lives and effect positive change in the world.

“They can bridge cultural divides and bring people together through a shared love of the arts.

“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.”

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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