Filmmaker Barry Avrich‘s latest documentary The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue follows the heroic mission, independently carried out by retired Israeli General Noam Tibon to rescue his son and daughter-in-law, Amir and Miri, and two grandchildren from the kibbutz Nahal Oz near the northern Gaza strip after it was raided by Hamas on the morning of Oct. 7. The peaceful kibbutz which has existed since the 1950s was prone to attack as the Israeli government eased their military presence around the community.
“It’s the biggest failure in the history of the state of Israel,” Amir told CBS News. “Civilians by the hundreds were being massacred by terrorists and nobody came.”
But more than the General making a beeline for his family, was his selfless acts of tending to others on the road who were impacted by the Oct. 7 attacks. This entailed the general and his wife, Gali, breaking off from his direct drive to Nahal Oz, read the first couple he saved from the musical festival massacre were Bar and Lior Matsner who had been hiding on the side of the road in a pile of leaves. Tibon ensured that the couple got to safe zone. There was also a group of soldiers who were killed and injured who the general tended to, getting two of the wounded to a hospital. Ultimately, the General joined a group of Israeli special forces upon arrival at the kibbutz. They went from house to house, methodically clearing out the Hamas militants.
The subject of the General caught the attention of documentary filmmaker Barry Avrich, who has frequently world premiered his movies at the Toronto International Film Festival. Deadline’s documentary reporter Matt Carey received a draft of the fest’s doc lineup last month which listed Avrich’s The Road Between Us as one of the titles. But then in the final draft, Carey noticed that the movie was removed and began asking questions. This prompted Deadline to learn that TIFF had uninvited The Road Between Us from the festival, the fest saying the pic was removed “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.” That footage, some of it from Hamas body cams, of the Oct 7 massacre had already been publicly used by several media outlets. TIFF’s decision to uninvite The Road Between Us on Aug. 11 was met with protests by those in the film community as well as Zionist groups in the next few days. By Thursday, Aug. 14 festival changed course, and officially selected The Road Between Us. The docu will have its world premiere on Wednesday Sept. 10. Avrich talks to Deadline in regards to how this went down.
How did the General come on your radar? Was it the 60 Minutes piece?
Barry Avrich: It was partially. I’m not a political documentary filmmaker. Everyone knows I love a great story, and so, people were talking about him to me. In the 60 Minutes piece that ran, I saw his eyes and saw that there’s a character here, and I fell in love with the character. I thought I’m probably going to be the eighth guy in line for this request, and I’m probably too late, and I somehow found his phone number and called him. I said, ‘You don’t know me. I’m a documentary filmmaker. Here’s a couple of other films I’ve made. Maybe you know them, maybe you don’t, and I’d love to make a film about you, and he said, ‘You’re going to have to deal with my daughter-in-law. She’s a literary agent, and I went ‘Oh, no. Oh, god, literary agent. I’m going to have to negotiate.’ I’m spoiled in that when I’ve wanted to make a film about someone, I just called [the subject]. If I wanted to make a film, I haven’t had to deal with agents.
Was there ever any indication that Hamas was aware that General Tibon’s son Amir was living in the kibbutz, hence the reason why they targeted it?
Barry Avrich: No. multiple kibbutzim were targeted that day all over that region. So, no, I never saw any evidence that his family was specifically targeted as a journalist or targeted because he was the son of Noam.
How does Israel see the general? This is a guy who took action with his own hands. He was crossing checkpoints when he wasn’t supposed to, and has also called out Israel for the lack of military at Nahal Oz.
Barry Avrich: I see him as Liam Neeson. Israel might know or not know, Liam Neeson in the Taken movie franchise. They see him as a hero. When you drive through Tel Aviv and other parts of Israel, there are graffiti cartoons of him in a Superman cape on the wall. He is seen as a man that finally, on that day, showed leadership. So, walking around with him is like walking around with a rockstar.
He’s extraordinarily well respected, and that’s really the question of the film: What would you do? And of course, most people, if they have to save their family, they’ll save their family. They’ll do what they can, but when you reach the military or police barricades, they’re telling you, ‘Sorry, you’ll have to stop here, most of us stop.’ What can you do? Not him. He had the entire equation of his mission in his head, and he was not going to deviate.
The only time he deviates, which I always found was fascinating, having retraced every step with him is that, even if he could see his son’s house or even see the gates of the kibbutz where his son lived, if there was a wounded soldier or an ambush or one of the Nova festival survivors, he saved them, and I kept saying to him, ‘But wait a minute, you’re 20 minutes away. You’re 100 feet away, and he goes, ‘You know what? My mission is to save people, and so, yes, that includes my family, but if there are others before them, I’m going to save them, too.’ Incredible.
What is the current state of Nahal Oz now? Are they rebuilding?
Barry Avrich: They’re rebuilding, and they’re waiting for people to decide whether to come back or not.
The raw Hamas footage, as well as that of the attack in the compound, that was obtained from the security cameras?
Barry Avrich: The footage is a combination of many closed-circuit cameras that were kibbutz cameras, security cameras, and multiple Hamas bodycams.
All of that footage is in the public domain, easily accessible?
Barry Avrich: It’s all there. I mean, every frame in the film that relates to the attack, from both the perspective of the Hamas bodycams as well as the perspective of the security cameras of the kibbutz, is all out there and has been seen. I do see the film as a thriller. The key was to take this Rubik’s cube, this puzzle of in the moment combined with Noam’s storytelling. So, if he talks about pulling up at a certain junction and his windshield gets shot, we have that footage. If he talks about seeing the gates close or open at the kibbutz, we have that footage. So, to be there in a mixture of real time with his storytelling almost a year later was really spectacular.
The General went from house to house and the kibbutz and took care of any remaining terrorists. Was there footage of that?
Barry Avrich: I don’t know. There were media cameras that went in after. Any of the houses in the film where you see the terrorists in there pre-Noam arriving is Hamas bodycam footage, and it’s quite chilling when you see a family on the floor begging for their lives as the terrorists are coming through. I don’t think so. You’re talking about real time, and I don’t think anybody was rushing to pick up a camera.
Did the General have on a bodycam when he entered the kibbutz?
Barry Avrich: No. He had on his jeans and the t-shirt from when he left Tel Aviv at 6:30 that morning. That’s it. No bodycam.
Have any film festivals ever insisted upon legal clearances for footage in your documentaries’?
Barry Avrich: Never, and I’m talking about dozens and dozens and dozens of documentaries. Never.
This was the first time with TIFF?
Barry Avrich: It’s the first time. Many years ago, I made a documentary called Show Stopper, about the disgraced theatrical empresario Garth Drabinsky that played the Toronto Film Festival. They were nervous about him being litigious, and I indemnified them as to whether or not they would ever get sued, but that was my offer, because they were nervous about the film with Garth, but it didn’t relate to any footage, and I have never been asked. Interestingly enough, when I sold the film Unauthorized to IFC Films about Harvey Weinstein, they wanted to see clearances on everything, and I’d never seen that before, and they were worried about Harvey. It’s not my first rodeo here, and festivals and broadcasters and streamers know that. There are insurance policies and indemnifications in place if they get sued.
Why did TIFF ultimately change their mind on the film? What made them come around?
Barry Avrich: Oh, I think global pressure. I think they assumed that, okay, this is a film that’s ‘controversial’ without the public having seen it. So, you know what? Everybody will just run with that. Controversial times, we don’t want that film, and I don’t think they ever thought that other communities would get behind it. I was so proud of the film community in Hollywood that started to really react to this as well as the news outlets that covered it. I think what it said was, politics aside, why is a film festival making this decision?
We have heard that TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey was a champion of The Road Between Us. It’s my understanding that some staff had objections to the film, hence a clerical error was found to initially un-invite the film. Does that sound correct to you?
Barry Avrich: I don’t know. I’ve heard so many theories of what the process was. I’ve heard also that an in-house lawyer came up with the idea of the Hamas footage clearance. I go back to the fact that a film festival is in the business of showing art. You’re not going to make everyone happy. There should be balance. That’s in their mission statement. I’m very happy that they, ultimately, reversed their decision, but their decision, to me, should always be on the basis of what their mission statement was, which is artistic freedom and dialogue and debate.
Is part of your settlement with TIFF having to provide any kind of security on the night of premieres or screenings?
Barry Avrich: They’ve never asked me for a nickel with reference to security. You know, there will be security there, and I bring along my own team, as I would anyway. But they’ve not suggested to augment our security. I always said that, I will have our team, and we’ll work with your team, and they’ve been very good about that.
Do you think any of the negative reaction to the film is rooted in antisemitism?
Barry Avrich: Of course. I think it is a mixture of not understanding what went on. There’s people, some people that have seen this film, that have since come out and said, ‘I really didn’t know, because there’s so much media spin.’ So, I think it’s a mixture of antisemitism, anti-Zionism, and just a lack of knowing what the story is.
What’s your next project? Are you going to be raking another media mogul over the coals?
Barry Avrich: I’m always looking for the next topic. I’m in post-production now on a beautiful film on a singer by the name of Darlene Love. So, it’s a little lighter. She was the star of 20 Feet from Stardom, and she’s so spectacular, and so, we’re in post-production on that now.
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