ABNA24 - The documentary “NAZA,” produced by the British newspaper The Guardian and directed by Oscar winners Yuval Abraham and Rachel Zor, made a striking debut at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival, receiving a 25-minute standing ovation reportedly described as the longest in the festival’s history.
The film had its world premiere on Thursday on Venice’s Lido, featuring testimony from people who served in the Israeli military and were involved in operations to surveil, target and remotely kill Palestinians.
“NAZA” is competing for the Golden Lion, the Venice Film Festival’s highest honor, and its premiere drew significant attention from audiences and critics.
Festival observers said the standing ovation set a new record, while Italian media reported that it surpassed the 24-minute ovation received by “The Voice of Hind Rajab” at its world premiere at the festival last year.
Israeli military testimonies
“NAZA” is based on testimony from 24 soldiers who served in the Israeli military, including soldiers and intelligence officials, who discussed military operations carried out in the Gaza Strip. Some described what took place as the systematic killing of Palestinian civilians.
The film’s title refers to an acronym used by the Israeli military for civilians expected to be killed during attacks, including men, women and children.
Participants reveal details about secret systems and methods used by the Israeli military in Gaza, including surveillance, target selection and remotely conducted strikes.
To protect their identities, the filmmakers used special techniques while recording the interviews. Some footage was secretly filmed on rooftops in Tel Aviv over three years, while digital technology was used to conceal the participants’ identities, voices and facial features.
The documentary includes direct testimony from Israeli military personnel who describe the burning of residential areas where Palestinians had sought shelter in Gaza, as well as the killing of Palestinians during food aid distribution.
The film also says that some participants served in a secret intelligence unit directly linked to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Killing continues behind wall of denial
Ahead of the premiere, director Yuval Abraham told reporters that securing Italian distribution rights for the film was important, saying that the “wall of denial” inside Israel remains extremely difficult to break through.
Abraham said the film is not about Israel’s upcoming elections but about Palestinians killed during the war, stressing that the killing of civilians in Gaza is continuing.
He pointed to the killing of a seven-year-old Palestinian girl alongside her father inside their vehicle during the same week the film premiered, saying the realities documented in the film are still unfolding.
Director Rachel Zor said transforming the participants’ testimonies into a documentary was particularly important because they appear before the camera to explain systems they helped design and operate and how those systems functioned.
She said hearing directly from the people who developed and operated these systems gives their testimony a different dimension.
Gaza genocide continues
The film premiered as Palestinians continue to endure the consequences of Israel’s genocidal war on Gaza, which began in October 2023 and has killed more than 73,000 Palestinians and wounded more than 174,000, alongside massive destruction across the enclave.
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival is set to conclude on Saturday with the announcement of the Golden Lion winner, as “NAZA” continues to draw attention following a premiere dominated by testimony exposing aspects of Israel’s surveillance, targeting and killing of Palestinians in Gaza.
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