Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupt opening night of Toronto Film Festival

TORONTO (AP) — Pro-Palestinian protesters disrupted an opening night screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, chanting “Stop the genocide!” during opening remarks.

At the screening for the David Gordon Green comedy “Nutcrackers” on Thursday evening, four protesters walked down the center aisle of the Princess of Wales Theatre, carrying signs and flashlights while shouting criticism of festival sponsor Royal Bank of Canada. “Cut ties with RBC,” they yelled.

Cameron Bailey, festival director, was speaking at the podium on stage when the protest began. He tried to maintain order, urging the protestors, “We are here to start the festival.” Numerous crowd members booed the protesters.

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The protest lasted for a handful of minutes before the demonstrators were ushered out by security. Several attendees posted videos online of the episode.

Representatives for the festival didn’t respond to requests for comment.

In a statement, RBC said: “We respect the right of individuals to make their voices heard, but it’s unfortunate to see activist groups attempting to co-opt this important cultural event. Protestors targeting corporate sponsors are shifting attention from the work of artists and weakening support for essential arts and cultural programs.”

The bank added: “The humanitarian crisis in Israel and Gaza continues to have a devastating impact and we feel deeply for everyone who is affected.”

At last year’s TIFF, a campaign called RBC Off Screen also protested the festival sponsor. An open letter to TIFF urged the festival to reconsider its relationship with RBC. Signees included Mark Ruffalo, Rachel McAdams and Joaquin Phoenix. They criticized the bank’s funding of the oil and gas industry.