Earlier this week I noted that the Toronto International Film Festival killed the scheduled showing of a documentary — The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue — on Hamas’s 10/7 atrocities. Now comes news via Jewish Insider that the film has itself been rescued.
In a statement “to the TIFF community,” TIFF and the filmmakers indicate they have felt our pain — TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey more than the filmmakers, I’m pretty sure. Bailey regrets that “communication around [TIFF’s] requirements did not clearly articulate the concerns and roadblocks that arose…”
Note how Bailey creatively avoids use of the passive voice while attributing the difficulties to inanimate forces. We can all learn something from this exercise in reputational crisis management.
Please see the following statement from TIFF and the Filmmaker regarding The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue. pic.twitter.com/e3Peik2es1
— TIFF (@TIFF_NET) August 15, 2025
The New York Post devoted a cover story that directed attention to the film’s excommunication from the festival. It now deems TIFF’s statement “a groveling apology.”
According to Jewish Insider’s story, “The documentary tells the story of retired Israeli general Noam Tibon, who raced from Tel Aviv to rescue his son and two young granddaughters trapped in a safe room in Kibbutz Nahal Oz when Hamas terrorists invaded on Oct. 7.” It sounds like it is not to be missed.
