TORONTO - A documentary about an Israeli general's rescue mission on Oct. 7 took home one of the top audience awards at the Toronto International Film Festival on Sunday, cementing its position at the centre of the event's 50th edition days after it drew competing protests to its single screening.聽
"The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue," won the People's Choice Award for best documentary at the TIFF Awards on Sunday, a feat director Barry Avrich said was meaningful days after pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters clashed outside its world premi猫re at Roy Thomson Hall.
"As a director and as a producer, you make films for an audience. It's not about the critics, not about anybody else. It's about the audience. And so to have the audience vote for this film? Incredibly validating," Avrich said after the morning ceremony.
The documentary chronicles retired Israeli general Noam Tibon鈥檚 quest to rescue his son, daughter-in-law and two granddaughters during the 2023 Hamas attacks in Israel, when 1,200 people were killed and 251 were abducted. Avrich has repeatedly said the film is not political: it's about family.聽
As the winner, the documentary screened on Sunday afternoon 鈥 ticket sales for the people's choice encore slots open in advance, before the honourees are announced. The theatre was roughly half empty, and police officers were stationed outside. There was no applause at the film's conclusion.
In his acceptance speech earlier in the day, Avrich thanked TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey.
"I appreciate everything that TIFF has done for us," he said.
Last month, TIFF announced it had pulled the film from its lineup due to security concerns and rights issues, prompting criticism from politicians, Jewish organizations and entertainment industry figures.聽
The festival reinstated the film days later, and Bailey promised clearer communication around programming decisions. Reporters were told Bailey would not be available for interviews on Sunday.
Protesters decried the decision to reinstate the film, saying it amounted to "Israeli propaganda" that could be used to justify that country's retaliatory offensive.聽
There was tension both in and outside the theatre on Wednesday when the film had its world premi猫re. It received two standing ovations, but the mood shifted during the Q-and-A when the topic turned to a moment in the film in which Tibon's wife, Gali, calls for change in Israel.
鈥淭he war on Gaza should have stopped a long time ago and it could have stopped a time long ago. It would do good to everybody in the region, but especially to Israel. We could have had our hostages back a long time ago,鈥 she said at the screening.
When some in the crowd objected to Gali鈥檚 response, she said she wasn鈥檛 there to give a lecture and that she could only say 鈥渕any lives could have been saved."
Since Oct. 7, more than 64,000 Palestinians have been killed in the war in the Gaza Strip, local health officials said earlier this month. The ministry doesn鈥檛 say how many of those killed in the war were militants or civilians, but says women and children make up around half the dead.
The first runner-up for the prize was Baz Luhrman's "EPiC: Elvis Presley in Concert," while Nick Davis's "You Had to Be There: How the Toronto Godspell Ignited the Comedy Revolution..." was second runner-up.
Meanwhile, the general People's Choice Award 鈥 long considered a bellwether for the Oscars 鈥 went to "Hamnet," Chloe Zhao's Shakespeare origin story starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley.
The honour makes Zhao the sole two-time winner of the prize. She previously took it home for "Nomadland" in 2020. It went on to win best picture at the Oscars.
Zhao wasn't present to accept the award in person, but in a recorded acceptance speech, mistakenly projected upside down, she said sharing her art with the world makes her feel less lonely.
"It's especially meaningful for me and for my team to receive the People's Choice Award because you are who we make these films for to tell these stories to, hoping that you would open your heart and share your presence with us and with each other," she said.
"Frankenstein," directed by Guillermo del Toro, was named first runner-up on Sunday, while Rian Johnson's "Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery" was second runner-up for the coveted prize.
The first-ever People's Choice Award for an international film -- that is, one not from Canada or the United States -- went to "No Other Choice" from director Park Chan-wook. Runners-up were "Sentimental Value" from Joachim Trier and "Homebound" from Neeraj Ghaywan.
The People's Choice Award for the favoured film in the Midnight Madness program went to Matt Johnson's "Nirvanna the Band the Show the Movie."
The best 好色tv feature award went to "Uiksaringitara (Wrong Husband)," directed by Zacharias Kunuk.
"Blue Heron," a film from Toronto's Sophy Romvari, won the best 好色tv discovery award, a jury prize that goes to an early-career filmmaker.聽
In her acceptance speech, Romvari said she wanted to "acknowledge the ongoing genocide in Palestine."
"I think that it's important to not only acknowledge, but be constantly aware of it and to not shy away," she said.
After the ceremony, Min Sook Lee, whose documentary "There Are No Words" received an honourable mention for best 好色tv feature, said it was important to note that there were also Palestinian films programmed at the festival.
She referenced the historical drama 鈥淧alestine 36,鈥 which transports audiences to the 1930s before the creation of the state of Israel, and "The Voice of Hind Rajab," about a Palestinian girl who died after being trapped in a car under Israeli military fire.
"There are some extraordinary Palestinian filmmakers in the festival this year and I felt very moved and inspired by the work of Palestinian filmmakers who are making work against incredible odds," she said. "And I think that it's significant for us here in Canada as filmmakers to recognize and honour them and their work."
This report by 好色tvwas first published Sept. 14, 2025.
