NAZA Documentary Wins 25-Minute Ovation at Venice as Israel Culture Minister Threatens Citizenship Revocation

An Israeli-made documentary, NAZA, received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere at the Venice Film Festival, where it documents Israel’s use of AI-powered systems to target Palestinians in Gaza.

“received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere at the Venice Film Festival”

Al Jazeera

The 80-minute film was directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who won an Oscar in 2025 for No Other Land, and it was built on testimony from Israeli military and intelligence sources who spoke on the condition that their identities be concealed.

Acento

Abraham told AFP, “We are letting the soldiers and the officers speak about what they did,” describing the film’s goal as hearing “how the systems of killing in Gaza looked, how they operated.”

The film’s title is described as a Hebrew intelligence euphemism used to indicate the number of civilians expected to be killed in a given air strike, and it includes discussion of an AI-assisted system known as “Lavender” that drew on Gaza’s monitored telecommunications network.

Al Jazeera also reported that NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, and co-director Yuval Abraham said Israeli intelligence officers described the mass killing of Palestinians as ‘not by accident, but by design’.

The documentary’s accounts describe an AI-assisted targeting process that one interviewee says was “done on a mass scale, like a factory,” while another says the process is “like a video game, because everything is done remotely” and is “insanely fun.”

Abraham told AFP that the film would push Western governments to drop their backing for Israel and apply pressure through sanctions, saying, “You are weakening the people inside who are supporting human rights and a political solution by refusing to act.”

Al Jazeera

Israel’s Chief of Staff Aviv Kochavi said he instructed the Military Advocate General to explore possible legal actions against the film NAZA and those involved, and he directed the formation of a team to address what he described as “false accusations”.

Israeli army spokesperson I’vi David-Fren attacked the film, noting that the trailer contains “serious and false claims” against the army and its soldiers, and said what appeared in the trailer is “not true.”

Anadolu Ajansı reported that the film takes its title from NAZA, a Hebrew military acronym for “collateral damage,” and said the documentary was screened in the main competition at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival and is the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion this year.

After NAZA’s Venice win, Israeli officials moved to counter the film, with the Culture Minister Micky Zohar threatening—on X platform on Sunday night—to revoke the filmmakers’ citizenship.

“threatened—on X platform on Sunday night—to revoke the filmmakers’ citizenship”

Al-Jazira Net

Anadolu Ajansı reported that Israeli diplomats warned about the film’s impact on Israel’s image after it circulated, and said Netanyahu’s office, the Foreign Ministry, and the army spokesperson were holding intensive discussions to craft a media campaign against the film.

In a statement carried by Channel 12, Zohar said, “We will examine whether obtaining and publishing these testimonies and materials constitutes treason against the state or aiding the enemy in a time of war.”

The same Anadolu Ajansı report said officials claimed there is no genocide in Gaza, and that anyone who says otherwise is either lying or unaware of the meaning of genocide.

Al Jazeera also framed the stakes in terms of access and narrative control, saying the filmmakers’ Israeli identity gave them greater access while Palestinian filmmakers face barriers to telling their stories, as NAZA remained in the spotlight after its Venice Special Jury Prize.