Canadian actor Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers says she is “disgusted and ashamed” by the Toronto Film Critics Association’s (TFCA) decision to cut a portion of her awards speech, in which she expressed support for Palestine, from Monday’s awards gala.
Tailfeathers was being honored at the TFCA Awards Gala in Toronto with the prize for Best Supporting Performance in a Canadian Film, for her role in Melanie Oates’ drama Sweet Angel Baby.
Unable to attend the March 2 ceremony in person, she sent a video message which – in addition to the standard acceptance speech fare – included the statement “my heart continues to be with the people of Palestine who are experiencing this ongoing genocide, and thank you to anyone in this industry who’s been brave enough to say anything.”
That section was cut from the awards gala video.
In a furious email sent to TFCA members on Wednesday, Tailfeathers slammed the organization for censorship and vowed to return her trophy. “A choice was made to neutralize and censor my words with the paternalistic excuse that I somehow needed protection from my own words,” she wrote.
She continued: “This is deeply troubling. The TFCA Awards are a celebration of cinematic expression and censorship is the enemy of expression. I am profoundly disgusted and ashamed by such an act of censorship. Neutrality is a form of violence; the choice to be apolitical is political. I cannot, in good conscience, accept this award now that it has been tainted by censorship.”
She added that she was not interested in receiving an apology. “I do not know how this rupture can be repaired,” she wrote. “The moral injury I carry with me cannot be undone.”
In response to her letter, TFCA president Johanna Schneller said that Tailfeathers’ speech had only been edited “to maintain the timing of the awards show” and not for political reasons. Nevertheless, she said she would resign as the organization’s president.
“We were proud to recognize her work, which was both deserving and meaningful,” Schneller said in a statement. “Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers’ speech – along with those of other recipients – was shortened to maintain the timing of the awards show. That decision was mine as president, and in light of this outcome, I will be tendering my resignation.”
She added that the TFCA encourages all winners to share full remarks on their personal platforms. “Film is a powerful space for dialog, reflection and human connection,” Schneller said. “Recognizing and celebrating the work of all artists is essential in fostering a cultural landscape that values diverse perspectives, histories and lived experiences.”
Beyond her work in Sweet Angel Baby, which premiered at TIFF in 2024, Tailfeathers has been celebrated for her producing and directing work. She is best known for her 2019 film The Body Remembers When the World Broke Open, which she co-directed with Kathleen Hepburn. That film won the 2020 Canadian Screen Award for Best Director, as well as the top TFCA prize for Best Canadian Film.
The controversy is the latest in a now long string of incidents involving arts organizations, awards speeches, and the Israel-Palestine conflict, with tensions perennially on a knife-edge.
Last month, a German cabinet minister walked out of the Berlinale’s awards ceremony after Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib (Chronicles of a Siege) called out the German and Israeli governments for the “genocide in Gaza,” in a row that nearly forced out the head of the Berlin Film Festival.
Also in February, the BBC came under fire for cutting from its BAFTA awards broadcast the phrase “free Palestine,” from British director Akinola Davies Jr.’s winning speech, in a scandal only overshadowed by the greater fallout from its even poorer decision to keep in a Tourette’s sufferer’s involuntarily uttered racial slurs, despite there being a significant delay time between the live event and subsequent broadcast.
Tailfeathers’ full letter to the TFCA is below.
To the membership and executives of the Toronto Film Critics Association;
Firstly, I would like to thank the TFCA for recognizing my performance in Melanie Oates’ beautiful film, Sweet Angel Baby. Playing Toni was one of the highlights of my career and I am deeply proud of that film and all that it offers; especially as a queer Indigenous woman. As a filmmaker, I also have profound respect for the work of film critics so I do not take this recognition lightly.
Regretfully, I am writing to inform you that I will be returning the award due to the TFCA leadership’s choice to censor my words on Palestine. I was unable to attend the gala in Toronto so I sent in an acceptance speech by video. The following statement was removed from the video – When we were shooting Sweet Angel Baby, October 7th happened and it changed everything. I just want to say that my heart continues to be with the people of Palestine who are experiencing this ongoing genocide and thank you to anyone in this industry who’s been brave enough to say anything.
Instead, it is clear that a choice was made to neutralize and censor my words with the paternalistic excuse that I somehow needed protection from my own words. This is deeply troubling. I used those words in my video recording specifically because I would not be in the room to say them with a mic in my hand. The TFCA Awards are a celebration of cinematic expression and censorship is the enemy of expression. I am profoundly disgusted and ashamed by such an act of censorship. Neutrality is a form of violence; the choice to be apolitical is political. I can not, in good conscience, accept this award now that it has been tainted by censorship. I do not know how this rupture can be repaired and I’m not interested in receiving an apology. The moral injury I carry with me can not be undone.
Two years ago, I left social media following consistent harassment from numerous industry professionals – a producer, a publicist, and a photographer all come to mind. I also left social media because I could not make peace with continuing on with business as usual while the Canadian government – the same government that funds our cultural institutions – continued to arm Israel in its relentless assault on Palestinian civilians. I am also aware of backdoor conversations had by people in positions of power in this industry concerning my views on Palestine, which has likely impacted my career and livelihood. People talk and this industry is small. I refuse to be silenced and I refuse to stand on the wrong side of history in order to placate people who abuse their positions of power.
In the words of Omar El Akkad one day, everyone will have always been against this. Just as settlers in Canada now make land acknowledgements on stolen Indigenous land, as they did at the TFCA Gala, the descendants of the apolitical will one day claim to care about the plight of Palestinians who lived with illegal occupation, apartheid, and genocide.
As I stated in my video, thank you to anyone in this industry who has been brave enough to speak up for the people of Palestine. You nourish my spirit and give me the courage to speak up. Further to that, thank you to the filmmakers and anyone involved in supporting the courageous and necessary films that speak to the reality of Palestinians. The Palestinian people are deserving of dignity, humanity, and sovereignty. Also, as I’ve said many times before, I truly empathize with those in the Jewish community who have been harmed by antisemitic violence. Antisemitism is never acceptable and I have witnessed the pain of many of my Jewish friends and colleagues. If we aim to rid our world of Antisemitism, so too must we rid this world of Islamophobia and Anti-Palestinian hate.
To those in the Jewish community who are speaking out against the genocide of Palestinians, I recognize the incredible risk you are taking in critiquing the actions of the state of Israel. You are brave and your actions do not go unnoticed. To my Palestinian kin, especially the artists and filmmakers, I use the words of Fatma Hassouna and say I put my soul in my hand and walk with you.
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