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.
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.
Harvey Weinstein hit with new sex crime charge in New York
Harvey Weinstein pleaded not guilty Wednesday to a new sex crime charge in New York, as he awaits retrial in his landmark #MeToo case.
Details of the new allegations were not immediately available. He was charged with committing a criminal sex act.
The jailed ex-movie mogul has long maintained that any sexual activity was consensual.
Prosecutors revealed last week that Weinstein had been indicted on additional sex crime charges that weren't part of the case that led to his now-overturned 2020 conviction. But the new indictment was sealed until his arraignment.
Prosecutors have said that the grand jury heard evidence of up to three alleged assaults โ two in hotels in the Tribeca neighborhood and one at a lower Manhattan residential building. The purported incidents took place from the mid-2000s to 2016, prosecutors said.
But it's not clear whether any of those allegations underlie the new indictment.
While bracing for the new charges, Weinstein also is awaiting retrial after New York state's highest court this spring overturned his 2020 conviction on rape and sexual assault charges involving two women. The high court, called the Court of Appeals, ordered a new trial, which is tentatively scheduled to begin Nov. 12.
The Court of Appeals ruled that the then-trial judge unfairly allowed testimony against him based on allegations that were not part of the case. That judge's term expired in 2022, and he is no longer on the bench.
Prosecutors have said they'll seek to fold the new charges into the retrial, but Weinstein's lawyers say it should be a separate case.
Weinstein, who also was convicted in 2022 in a Los Angeles rape case, remains behind bars while awaiting his New York retrial.
Weinstein,... Read More