After weeks of back-and-forth with festival organizers, “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” set its Toronto International Film Festival world premiere on Thursday for Sept. 10 at Roy Thompson Hall.
Director Barry Avrich and producer Mark Selby’s Oct. 7 documentary centered on an Israeli family ignited a media firestorm this month after the festival withdrew its invitation, saying it lacked “legal clearance of all footage.” TIFF then re-invited the documentary just two days later, with Avrich and CEO Cameron Bailey saying in a joint statement, “We have worked together to find a resolution to satisfy important safety, legal and programming concerns.”
The overall ordeal sparked widespread outcry, culminating after its re-invitation in an open letter signed by over 1,000 industry leaders — including Debra Messing, Amy Schumer, Mayim Bialik and Jerry O’Connell — denouncing the festival’s handling of the feature as an attempt to “silence Jewish voices.”
But now it’s back with one festival screening on Sept. 10 at 2 p.m. ET as an official TIFF selection presented by Melbar Entertainment Group.
Read the documentary feature’s official synopsis via TIFF below:
In a harrowing real-life story that echoes “Taken,” the feature documentary “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” follows retired Israeli general Noam Tibon, who on Oct. 7, 2023, received a desperate text from his son: terrorists had stormed his home, and he, his wife and their two young daughters feared for their lives. With no time to spare, Noam and his wife, Gali, embarked on a 10-hour mission across a country under siege to save their family. Relying only on his instincts and military training, Noam navigated ambushes, roadblocks and a collapsing security system in a relentless race against time.
Directed by acclaimed Canadian filmmaker Barry Avrich, the film retraces every step of that day, blending intimate firsthand testimony with the raw urgency of a survival thriller. Set against the backdrop of one of Israel’s darkest days, “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” is both a gripping cinematic retelling of an extraordinary rescue and an unflinching look at the failures and resilience revealed on Oct. 7. At its core, it is a profoundly human story about courage, family and the power of love in the face of unimaginable terror.
“We are pleased to share that ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue’ will be an official TIFF selection at the festival this year, where we believe it will contribute to the vital conversations that film is meant to inspire,” Bailey said in his Aug. 14 announcement re-inviting the project to screen at TIFF. “In this case, TIFF’s communication around its requirements did not clearly articulate the concerns and roadblocks that arose and for that, we are sorry.”
The invitation came after the film was pulled from the festival Aug. 12 due to a lack of proper clearance for Hamas footage.
“The invitation for the Canadian documentary film ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue’ was withdrawn by TIFF because general requirements for inclusion in the festival, and conditions that were requested when the film was initially invited, were not met, including legal clearance of all footage,” organizers said at the time.
The open letter regarding the controversy, published Aug. 15, called on the festival to “platform Israeli voices moving forward.”
