The Canadian-produced film drew significant attention<\/a> ahead of TIFF, after it was briefly excluded from the festival due to what organizers said was a lack of \u201clegal clearance\u201d for certain footage used.<\/p>\n TIFF CEO Cameron Bailey denied reports that director Barry Avrich was asked to secure rights to use actual Hamas bodycam footage of the atrocities, during which Palestinian terrorists rampaged through southern communities on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and abducting 251 hostages, starting the ongoing war in Gaza.<\/p>\n The film was eventually reinstated, and Bailey conceded that TIFF had mishandled its submission process.<\/p>\n People’s Choice Winner for Best Documentary \u2013 Barry Avrich’s THE ROAD BETWEEN US #TIFF50<\/a> pic.twitter.com\/ZnEf4DHNMJ<\/a><\/p>\n \u2014 Jason Gorber (@filmfest_ca) September 14, 2025<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n Despite the bad blood, Avrich and producer Mark Selby thanked Bailey and the TIFF staff in their acceptance speech on Sunday.\n<\/p>\n Bailey recalled being \u201cblown away\u201d by the festival when he first saw a movie at the event in 1986, and said, \u201cI appreciate everything that TIFF has done for us,\u201d without mentioning the brief withdrawal of the film.<\/p>\n \u201cI want to thank the incredible staff at TIFF, Alyssa, Jay, Angela, everyone,\u201d Selby said. \u201cI hope all the filmmakers of this festival feel as supported as Barry and I did during this whole process. So thank you to all of them, and as I was a venue liaison for TIFF 10 years ago, I know what it\u2019s like to work the long hours that they\u2019re working and to come out on the other side of us.\u201d<\/p>\n Bailey was not available for interviews on Sunday, according to the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation.<\/p>\n The People\u2019s Choice awards are voted on by those who attend the film screenings, with a cross-checking process in place to ensure that the vote is not swayed by people who were not in attendance.<\/p>\n \t Retired Israeli general Noam Tibon in the documentary \u2018The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue.\u2019 (Courtesy)<\/p>\n Meanwhile, \u201cHamnet,\u201d a devastating period drama about the life of William Shakespeare and his family, won top prize at the festival among feature films.<\/p>\n The heart-wrenching movie stars Paul Mescal as Shakespeare, who tries to forge a career as a playwright while his wife Agnes \u2014 played by Jessie Buckley \u2014 contends with the perils of plague and childbirth in Elizabethan England.<\/p>\n It comes from Chloe Zhao, who directed 2020\u2019s Oscar-winning \u201cNomadland.\u201d Securing the Toronto award, on top of glowing reviews, confirms \u201cHamnet\u201d as another Academy Award frontrunner.<\/p>\n The film is based on a novel by Maggie O\u2019Farrell, which colors in the gaps of the little we know about the Shakespeares.<\/p>\n Agencies contributed to this report.<\/p>\n
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