More than 1,000 entertainment industry leaders have signed an open letter published by entertainment industry nonprofit Creative Community For Peace (CCFP) criticizing the Toronto International Film Festival's (TIFF) handling of The Road Between Us: Final Salvation.
The letter is in response to TIFF rescinding an invitation to screen the film but then inviting the filmmakers to work after public backlash. TIFF later announced that it would be an official festival selection.
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“This incident is not an anomaly – it is part of a troubling post-October 7 situation in which Israeli and Jewish creatives in film, television, music, sports and literature face barriers that no other community faces. Conscious efforts to marginalize and suppress Jewish voices in the arts around the world are intolerable and cannot be allowed to continue,” says CCFP Executive Director Ari Ingel.
Signatories of the letter include: Amy Schumer, actress; Debra Messing, actress; Mayim Bialik, actress; Sherry Lansing, former CEO of Paramount Pictures; Rebecca De Mornay, actress; Jennifer Jason Leigh, actress; Howie Mandel, television personality; Jerry O'Connell, actor; former chairman of NBCUniversal Television and Streaming; Jonathan Baruch.
To view the full list of signatories, visit:
Here is the full text of the letter:
“We, the undersigned members of the entertainment industry, are deeply concerned by the Toronto International Film Festival's (TIFF) initial decision not to invite the documentary The Road Between Us: Ultimate Salvation and its subsequent communications. It is the only documentary planned for this year's program to put forward an Israeli version.
“This follows the 2024 festival, which also did not screen a single Israeli documentary that did not disparage the country. In contrast, TIFF 2024 featured three anti-Israel documentaries, with four more planned for 2025.
“Last year, Creative Community for Peace and other entertainment industry leaders called on TIFF management to provide a platform for Israeli and Israeli-themed projects. TIFF management “assured” us that they would do so “even in difficult times such as these.” Obviously, that assurance was a lie.
“TIFF not only excluded The Road Between Us from its initial announcement, but also pressured the filmmakers to change the film's title – only to then cancel its participation. Although the film was reinstated after significant public backlash, the festival has offered no sincere apology or explanation for the harm it caused to the Jewish community.”
“Furthermore, the original claim that the project could not be shown because the filmmakers did not have the rights to film Hamas, a Canadian terrorist group broadcast to the world on October 7, 2023, as they killed, raped, brutalized and kidnapped thousands of innocent people from babies.
towards Holocaust survivors – this undermines trust.
“Like the claim that the cancellation was made for security reasons – when anti-Israel productions face no such barrier and instead of providing a safe environment, TIFF gave in to these cruel demands that only reinforced the feeling that Canadian Jews don’t count.”
“This incident was clearly a capitulation to an anti-Semitic campaign aimed at silencing the voices of Jews and Israelis at a time when anti-Semitism in Canada is reaching historic levels. TIFF's decisions last week have only deepened and legitimized this hostility.”
“Documentaries and film festivals have the power to impact people's lives and create positive change in the world.
“They can bridge cultural differences and bring people together through a shared love of art.
“We urge the Board of Directors to question TIFF’s leadership, support Israeli voices, and choose dialogue over isolation, and peace over prejudice.”
A press release accompanying the letter said the people who signed it did so “as individuals on their own behalf and not on behalf of their companies or organizations. All organizations and companies listed are for affiliate purposes only.”
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