Calgary Jewish Film Festival – ‘The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue’ is a must see!

By Ari Sniderman

(AJNews) – On Friday, October 13, 2023, there were 15 students at Talmud Torah. My son and one other student were alone in kindergarten. The Hamas-inspired “Day of Rage” had all but shuttered our home for Jewish learning in Edmonton. Explaining this to some non-Jewish friends, they were unaware of the impact that events in Israel were having on Jewish life in Edmonton. Bringing in beer-league hockey players as part of my support system became a powerful way to deflect the feeling of hatred that seemed to suffocate our community for the following weeks and years.

The Anti-Defamation League also cites the promotion of allies as a top strategy in combatting antisemitism. Like my son and his classmate, my friend and I were alone in the theatre on October 12, 2025, as the first hostages were being transferred to the Red Cross, to see The Road Between Us: The Ultimate Rescue. So, the Friends of JNF promotion to give free tickets to the documentary to non-Jewish allies in some communities made perfect sense.

The film intends to bring in allies, and I hope that the theatre at the Beth Tzedec Calgary Jewish Film Festival will be filled with them. And it should be easy to find allies of mothers and fathers. Allies of sons and daughters, of grandparents and large dogs. Because the fact they are Zionist and Jewish, proud members of Kibbutz Nahal Oz, is not the reason that retired General Noam Tibon and his wife, Dr. Gali Tibon, set off to save their son Amir, his wife Miri, and their two daughters on October 7th, 2023. Noam and Gali needed to save their family. Allies of families can certainly relate.

The Road Between Us portrays the indomitable actions of Noam and Gali between the tranquil morning beach in Tel Aviv and the nightmare at Kibbutz Nahal Oz as described by the couple themselves. Interviews of Amir and Miri as well as Nahal Oz members, security forces, and other survivors and heroes are woven throughout. As Kibbutz members barricaded themselves, the pair fearlessly traversed the highways and dirt roads in the line of fire.

Noam and Gali save lives along the way, including actively fighting soldiers and ghostly escapees from the Nova festival. Ultimately the two take different paths to heroism, with Noam ending up fighting his way into Nahal Oz. There, he and two IDF squads reinforce the local security forces, who had been the only line of defence for 11 hours, taking actions which save hundreds of lives. When Noam and Amir are re-united, allies of Kleenex can be added to the list of those who should be inclined to join the audience.

The film’s award-winning, Toronto-based creator, Barry Avrich, famously remarked that The Road Between Us is “wrapped in the flag of a family, not a country.” It is also billed as “a thriller,” though it wins awards as a documentary. This unique intertwining of thrilling personal narrative with gut-wrenching archival evidence sets the film apart. It is suited for allies of suspense and cinema, allies of community and love.

The Road Between Us reminds us that on October 7th there were heroes who died. There were communities destroyed and trust in the foundation of our only safe haven that was shaken. It urges us to extol heroes who lived. It implores us to promote Israel as a place where people love their communities and families. Calgarians, make sure you see this film! And bring your allies and some tissues.

Take this sentence or leave it. It’s implied above (or maybe it’s not?)

The Beth Tzedec Jewish Film Festival will be held in Calgary from No. 1 – 16. Click here for a related article by Maxine Fischbein.