OP-ED: Toronto’s film festival tried to bury this Oct. 7 film and it backfired

Sue-Ann Levy writes, "Instead of thinking about the fact that TIFF is in its 50th year, and celebrating that fact, the festival has a black mark against it for kowtowing to the Jew haters."

Source: Rawpixel

By Sue-Ann Levy

This past Monday, promptly at 10 a.m. I went online, as instructed for the ordinary peons who are not members, to buy tickets to TIFF’s one showing of the 10/7 film The Road between Us: The Ultimate Rescue.

I was informed that the tickets were all sold out.

Three days later, there were a few for sale, ranging from — get this — $267 to $475 per ticket, clearly an attempt to take advantage of the interest (which is a whole other story).

That’s to see the film during TIFF, a film that was initially banned by CEO Cameron Bailey. The excuse was allegedly that director Barry Avrich didn’t get the rights to the footage of Israelis being raped and murdered from Hamas.

But I would venture to say that it was mostly about looking good to the Hollywood actors who have spoken out about the Palestinians and will be coming to TIFF, and avoiding a scene with the out-of-control protesters on the day of the film.

The film is based on the story of Israeli hero, retired IDF general Noam Tibon, who saved his entire family from Hamas terrorists and rescued attendees at the Nova Music Festival during the horrific massacre of Oct. 7/23.

Notwithstanding the fact that Bailey should have been fired for his terribly poor judgment and feckless leadership, which backfired on him, the film was reinstated for one showing only during the afternoon of Sept. 10. The showing is at Roy Thomson Hall with nearly 2,000 seats.

There is only one showing despite the demand.

Let’s put this in perspective: Palestine 36, a misty-eyed retrospective on Palestine held by the British during the 1930s before a Jewish state was created, is not just a gala but is being screened three times.

There are other pro-Palestinian films, such as With Hasan in Gaza.

I’ve waited for days to see if another showing would be scheduled, but nothing.

Instead, the Prosserman Jewish Community Centre will host a screening on Sept. 27 at a cost of $34.52 for two tickets.

Although the film was only reinstated after a major uproar, which included coverage in the New York Post and on Fox News, it is very telling that the Roy Thomson Hall theatre sold out.

Instead of simply keeping it quiet and giving it airtime during TIFF, Bailey’s capitulation to the Jew haters on his programming staff and to those who might protest (and there is sure to be a protest), his poor judgement was publicized worldwide.

Instead of thinking about the fact that TIFF is in its 50th year, and celebrating that fact, the festival has a black mark against it for kowtowing to the Jew haters.

Instead of reading the theatre (room) and adding another showing to the schedule, the feckless Bailey obviously dug in his heels, likely refusing to concede he made a mistake.

Can we say he was hoisted on his own petard?

Yet this is all so typical of a festival that in recent years has become captivated by its own hype and captured by the woke mob.

I used to go to TIFF more than 15 years ago when the Galas were fun, insightful and not preachy. I looked forward to seeing the movies in Roy Thomson Hall and the buzz in Toronto during the Festival.

Not any more.

Now the programmers are dead set upon appealing to every diversity group, the tickets are overpriced if one doesn’t join one of various classes of membership and the whole spectacle is terribly pretentious.

Besides, if Bailey and his Jew hating staff don’t want me at their little film soiree, I don’t want to be there.

The best thing that happened to The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue was TIFF’s attempts to censor the truth from the public, the press and distributors.

Now everyone knows about it and I’m thrilled.