Massaker caused Gaza War: Documentary about Hamas robbery: Premiere at the Toronto film festival

Only unloaded, then celebrated: The Canadian director Barry Avrich presented his documentary “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” at the 50th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The oppressive film tells the rescue history of an Israeli family during the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. The premiere took place on Wednesday evening (local time) after a controversial cancellation and another invitation of the festival in Toronto.

The unprecedented massacre of Hamas, in which around 1,200 people killed in Israel and more than 250 more were dragged into the Gaza strips, triggered the Gaza war. According to the health authority controlled by the Hamas, more than 64,600 Palestinians have been killed in the Gaza Strip since the beginning of the war almost two years ago. Israel speaks of self -defense after the terrorist attack, but must also defend itself against allegations of the genocide. Israel and Germany also reject the allegation of genocide.

In the film, Avrich describes the events of October 7 from the perspective of Noam Tibon, a retired major general of the Israeli army, who tries to bring his son, his wife and two little daughters to safety. When terrorists attack the Kibbutz Laach Oz near the Gaza Strip, the young family flees into a shelter in their house. While you hear shots and screams outside, you notify the parents by text.

Dangerous rescue operation

Together with his wife Gali, Tibon Senior from Tel Aviv in the Jeep goes to the 85 -kilometer path to the Kibbutz. A life -threatening campaign begins that becomes a true thriller. On the way, he takes survivors of the Nova festival, brings a wounded soldier to safety and finally reaches the Kibbutz. The documentary gives the fact that Avrich does not use moral attributions, but rather traces the events of the family with a straightforward, chronological simplicity.

Interviews with the tibons and other Israeli survivors alternate with dash cam material, recordings of the Israeli army and videos that Hamas terrorists had released on the day of the attack. Avrich saves a very brutal scenes, but the threat of the day comes out above all due to the Hamas bodycam material with terrifying directness. Cold -blooded shots in fleeing cars or corpses lying on the side of the road are, despite the blurred image quality of depressing force.

Sorry for the festival management

Those live recordings of the attack by Hamas fighter had led to discrepancies in advance. A few weeks before the premiere, the TIFF withdrew his invitation for “The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue” and justified the decision, among other things, with legal questions about the use of certain film materials. After severe criticism, the film was again included in the festival program a few days later.

“I would like to apologize for the mistakes, especially with the Jewish community,” said Tiff-Coo Cameron Bailey before the premiere. The demonstration in the sold -out Roy Thomson Hall was without incidents under strict safety precautions. Before the hall, a good three dozen demonstrators with Palestinian flags had previously protested, and there was a similarly large group with Israeli flags on the opposite side of the street.

After the premiere, director Avrich emphasized that he was not concerned with “making a political film. I simply wanted to tell the story of a family”. Noam and Gali Tibon, who were present in Toronto, also expressed criticism of the Israeli leadership in the subsequent Q&A. The Kibbutz was not protected, it took too long for the army to get to the aid. “On this day, it was failed enormously,” said Gali Tibon and also used the stage for an appeal: “This war has to come to an end. The remaining hostages have to come home.”