TORONTO â€" The filmmakers Alex Gibney, Atom Egoyan and Sarah Polley on Tuesday joined the writer Michael Ondaatje and others at the Toronto International Film Festival in a public demand that Egyptian authorities free two Canadians who they said have been held without formal charges in Cairo since Aug. 16.
John Greyson, a director and film scholar from York University here, and Tarek Loubani, a doctor and professor from Western University, in London, Ontario, were arrested during an uprising in Cairo, where they had stopped while in transit to Gaza.
Dr. Loubani teaches in Gaza, and Mr. Greyson expected to observe and film him in connection with a planned movie, their supporters said. But, they said, the border to Gaza was closed, and the two men were arrested while asking for directions at a police station.
Prosecutors in a public statement accused the two of joining members of the Muslim Brotherhood in assaulting a police station, but so far have held them without charges.
Cecilia Greyson, Mr. Greyson’s sister, said at a Tuesday news conference that the two were “in the wrong place at the wrong time.†Under Egyptian law, Ms. Greyson said, authorities can detain them without filing charges until Sunday, but at that point could seek to extend their detention for 15 more days.
Mr. Gibney noted that documentary makers are often exposed to dangerous situations, and need to know that other artists “have their backs.†More than 100,000 supporters â€" including Ben Affleck, Alec Baldwin, Colin Firth, Julie Christie and Paul Haggis â€" have joined an online call for support of the two.
“We are very, very worried about both of them†Mr. Egoyan said.
