Anti-Israel Protesters Storm Screening of Israeli Film at Toronto Festival

Shiryn Ghermezian

A scene from “Bliss (Hemda).” Photo: TIFF

Anti-Israel protesters interrupted a screening of an Israeli film at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) on Wednesday by demonstrating on stage before the show began and also chanting against the Jewish state outside the theater where the screening took place.

The film “Bliss (Hemda)” made its international premiere at the film festival. Before its screening began inside the TIFF Lightbox Cinema, a small group of approximately four protesters jumped on stage and shouted slogans against Israel, including “Free Palestine” as well as “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” which is widely interpreted as a call for the destruction of Israel, which is located between the Jordan River and the Mediterranean Sea.

The protesters told the audience “Shame on all of you,” shouted multiple false claims, and held banners about Israel committing “genocide” against Palestinians, according to a video from the scene obtained by Israel’s N12. Another demonstrator introduced the group as “a coalition of Jewish people, filmmakers [and] artists and we say no to genocide.” They continued to protest while being escorted off the stage and out of the theater by security personnel.

As the protesters were led out of the theater, the audience began chanting “Bring them home,” calling for Hamas to release the 101 hostages that remain in captivity in Gaza since the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks in Israel. The screening then proceeded as planned.

Outside the TIFF Lightbox Cinema, protesters chanted “Free Palestine,” against falsely accused Israel of genocide, held Palestinian flags, and raised anti-Israel posters, including one that said “Boycott Israel.” Another sign said “Turtle Island to Palestine, colonization is a crime,” and a separate poster read: “Bliss normalizes Israel apartheid.”

“Bliss” is a drama about an older married couple — played by Sasson Gabay, from “Shtisel” fame, and Asi Levi – confronting a number of challenges in their marriage, which is now intensified by the presence of two young men, who introduce new threats to their already fragile marriage. A synopsis of the film provided by TIFF stated that “Bliss” was written and shot before the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, but “certain scenes touch lightly on interactions between Jewish and Arab culture and language in Israel.”

The Hebrew and Arabic language film is directed by Shemi Zarhin, who was born in Tiberias and is now based in Tel Aviv. The director, who is also a screenwriter and novelist, has had previous films screened at TIFF. He told The Hollywood Reporter that “Bliss” was shot in locations across northern Israel that were later bombed and destroyed by Hezbollah missiles fired from southern Lebanon during the current Israel-Hamas war. A community center with a swimming pool that was a central location in the film was completely destroyed.