Sawt Falasteen - Israel film at Toronto fest entrenches industry split over Gaza

"The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue," which charts how retired Israeli general Noam Tibon saved his family and others during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks, is due to screen at North America's biggest movie festival Wednesday.

The Canadian-produced film makes use of actual Hamas bodycam footage of the attacks that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people in Israel, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official data.

A lack of "legal clearance" for this footage was the reason given by organizers for withdrawing the film from the festival's lineup last month -- before it was restored amid outrage over alleged censorship.

More than 1,000 entertainment industry figures including Amy Schumer and Debra Messing had signed a petition accusing the festival of silencing Jewish voices.

Director Barry Avrich this weekend in Toronto expressed skepticism about the official reason his film had been withdrawn.

"To the best of my knowledge, I've not known Hamas to have a licensing division," he told a panel.

In a statement, festival organizers said they had found "a resolution to satisfy important safety, legal, and programming concerns," apologizing for "pain and frustration" caused by its initial response.

"I was so proud of the film community in Hollywood that started to really react to this," Avrich told Deadline.

- 'Deep and angry' -

Yet Hollywood is far from unified.

In a New York Times op-ed Monday, veteran entertainment reporter Sharon Waxman wrote that the Gaza conflict "has pitted Hollywood against itself."

For a politically liberal industry which contains a powerful pro-Israel lobby, the issue "remains a third rail, with convictions running deep and angry across the board," she wrote.

Also Monday, over 1,500 actors and film industry workers including Olivia Colman and Mark Ruffalo vowed not to work with Israeli cinema bodies they said were "implicated in genocide" in Gaza, in an open letter.

Israeli's retaliatory campaign has killed at least 64,522 people in Gaza, according to figures from the Hamas-run goverment's health ministry considered reliable by the United Nations.

Elsewhere, the recent Venice film festival began with protests and calls to boycott Israeli actors, and ended Saturday with a gut-wrenching new Gaza film taking second prize.

"The Voice of Hind Rajab" recounts the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli forces in Gaza last year.

Blending real audio and video of the Red Crescent's attempted rescue with dramatic reenactments, it drew backing from Brad Pitt and Joaquin Phoenix.

It also prompted "thousands and thousands" of intimidating messages to the filmmakers and producers, director Kaouther Ben Hania told AFP.

The movie screened at Toronto Sunday, where Ban Hania said "we need the voice of Hind Rajab to echo across borders" and called for anyone in the audience who can help to evacuate the dead girl's remaining family from Gaza.

- 'A family, not a country' -

Ahead of Wednesday's premiere of "The Road Between Us" and possible protests, director Avrich told Deadline he planned to bring his own security team to supplement the festival's.

Toronto police told AFP they had a "strong presence across (the festival)" but declined to detail specific security plans for Wednesday's premiere.

The film itself is described as a documentary in the style of an "action thriller."

It recounts how Tibon "journeyed from Tel Aviv to the Nahal Oz kibbutz seeking to rescue his son," who is a prominent journalist, and other family members.

It uses a combination of new interviews and footage from kibbutz security cameras, as well as multiple Hamas bodycams.

Avrich has described Tibon as a real-life hero in the style of Liam Neeson's "Taken" action films.

"He is seen as a man that finally, on that day, showed leadership," said Avrich.

But, he told the Hollywood Reporter, "it's not really a political film. It's wrapped in the flag of a family, not a country."

Whether Hollywood views it that way, remains to be seen.

U.Shaheen--SF-PST