SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Gaza documentary Naza, directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received a record 25-minute standing ovation after its premiere at the Venice Film Festival on Thursday, September 10.
The 80-minute film examines Israel’s military operations in Gaza through testimony from 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel who spoke anonymously about systems and practices they say they witnessed during the war.
Naza is the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Its reception surpassed the reported 22-minute standing ovation received by The Voice of Hind Rajab at last year’s festival.
The film’s title comes from an Israeli military acronym referring to the expected number of civilian casualties in an air strike.
What is NAZA about?
The documentary is the result of a nearly three-year investigation by Abraham and Szor and builds on reporting published by +972 Magazine, Hebrew-language outlet Local Call and The Guardian.
The 24 interviewees were filmed at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, with their faces and voices digitally altered to conceal their identities.
According to testimony featured in the film, Israeli intelligence personnel used artificial intelligence-assisted systems, telecommunications surveillance and other data to identify and track people considered targets in Gaza.
The interviewees describe attacks on residential buildings where they allege military personnel knew family members and other civilians could be present. The film also contains accounts of phone surveillance and monitoring conversations involving suspected targets and their relatives.
One interviewee describes the process as being carried out on an “industrial scale”, while another compares the remote nature of the operations to a video game.
Abraham said the filmmakers wanted the interviewees to explain how the systems worked.
“We just told these officers: ‘Please describe to us what you did. How do these systems work? Sketch it out for us,’” he said at a press conference in Venice.
“Sometimes, in just asking the questions, you get the answers.”
He said some interviewees expressed remorse, while others spoke with indifference or pride about their roles.
The filmmakers said the documentary focuses on military policies and accepted practices rather than isolated actions by individual soldiers.
NAZA follows No Other Land
Abraham and Szor were two of the four directors of No Other Land, made with Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal. The film won the Academy Award for best documentary in 2025.
Naza was produced by The Guardian and British producer James Wilson of JW Films, with Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Glazer serving as executive producer.
The premiere comes as the war in Gaza continues. Gaza health authorities have reported more than 73,000 Palestinian deaths since October 7, 2023. Foreign journalists have also faced severe restrictions on independent access to the territory.
SOURCE : SIASAT
