On Tuesday, September 10 at 10 a.m., members of the TIFF community will hold a press conference at the TIFF Bell Lightbox to raise awareness about the imprisonment of filmmaker and professor John Greyson and Dr. Tarek Loubani in Cairo.
Loubani is a medical doctor and assistant profession who teaches emergency medicine to hospital staff at the Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Greyson, an award-winning filmmaker, was invited to observe Loubani’s work and to film at the hospital. They were arrested after asking for directions back to their hotel at a police station and have been held without formal charges since August 16. Their family, friends, and colleagues remain concerned for their safety and well-being.
Canadian filmmakers Atom Egoyan and Sarah Polley, documentary director Alex Gibney, Booker prize winning novelist Michael Ondaatje, and TIFF Bell Lightbox Artistic Director Noah Cowan will join Greyson’s sister, Cecilia, in the campaign to pressure Egyptian authorities to free the two Canadians.
Many festival-goers have been showing their support and raising awareness by wearing the #FreeTarekandJohn buttons designed specifically for the Festival. To date, more than 100,000 people have signed a petition joining hundreds of prominent supporters calling for Greyson and Loubani’s immediate release. For more information, please visit tarekandjohn.com.
