Israeli Filmmakers' Gaza War Documentary Receives Standing Ovation, Palestinian Flags at Venice Festival

The documentary "NAZA," by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Shore, premiered at the Venice Film Festival's main competition, receiving an exceptionally long standing ovation and the waving of Palestinian flags. The film, which is based on testimonies from 24 Israeli soldiers and officers involved in the Gaza war, offers a sharp critique of the IDF's operations and targeting systems in the Strip.

The title "NAZA" is an acronym for "collateral damage," referring to the expected number of civilian casualties in an attack, and also phonetically resembles the word Gaza. The film features interviews with intelligence personnel who planned and operated the systems used in strikes. To protect their identities, the interviewees' faces are obscured, their voices altered, and the interviews were filmed at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv.

"NAZA" includes archival footage contrasting the early Israeli control of Gaza with Tel Aviv's development, alongside Gaza's destruction. While acknowledging the October 7th attacks and the Israeli perspective, the filmmakers state their primary goal is to protest what they define as genocide in Gaza. Some testimonies draw comparisons to the Holocaust and historical dehumanization processes, which Abraham noted were made by the soldiers themselves.

Abraham and Shore explained that the film aims to expose an ongoing, organized killing system. "We must break the silence barrier regarding Gaza," Abraham stated. They emphasized that the film focuses on the entire system and military policy, not isolated incidents or soldiers acting against orders. "The mass killing of the Palestinian civilian population in Gaza was a deliberate, calculated, and premeditated systemic act," they asserted. "The choice to destroy Gaza is an Israeli choice, and the film reveals the policy behind it from people who personally took part in it."