Protestors have disrupted the opening night screening at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), accusing sponsor Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) of funding genocide.
Agitators during the opening night screening of David Gordon Green’s “Nutcrackers” were met with widespread boos from the audience.
Kyle Buchanan, the New York Times awards columnist, was amongst those in the audience and said, “The crowd is extremely hostile, shouting back ‘go away’ and booing them.”
The protestors were quickly escorted out by security within five minutes. “You said your peace, and now we would like to start the festival,” Cameron Bailey, the CEO of TIFF, said.
The pro-Palestinian protestors were rallying out against the RBC, which is the official bank partner of the festival. According to the video posted by Buchanan, the protestors flashed signs reading “RBC is killing our future” and “RBC off screen” while they yelled out “RBC funds genocide.”
“Nutcrackers” stars Ben Stiller as a workaholic who’s forced to look after his four nephews in rural Ohio. Green based the entire story on friends of his who live on a farm in Ohio, casting the real young boys to play versions of themselves in the film.
The festival opens Thursday night and runs until Sept. 15.
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