The Venice Film Festival has seen its longest standing ovation ever, courtesy of a documentary that pulls back the curtain on Israel's military operations in Gaza. NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor—the duo behind the Oscar-winning No Other Land—premiered in the main competition and immediately became a frontrunner for the Golden Lion.
The 80-minute film, shot in secrecy on Tel Aviv rooftops at night, features interviews with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers, soldiers, and whistleblowers. They describe how the army calculates civilian casualties in airstrikes, using the acronym NAZA—short for Nezek Agavi, meaning collateral damage. The title itself is a chilling insight into the mindset of those planning strikes.
According to the official synopsis, the documentary details “the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.” It builds on investigative reporting published between 2023 and 2025 by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian.
A record-breaking reception
The premiere on Wednesday drew a 24.5-minute standing ovation, surpassing the previous record held by Kaouther Ben Hania's The Voice of Hind Rajab, which received 22 minutes last year. That film, about a six-year-old girl killed while fleeing Gaza City, was one of the most acclaimed works of 2025.
Speaking at the press conference, Abraham explained their approach: “We just told these officers and soldiers, please describe to us what you did. Of course there were other questions that arose but the principal question was a question of detail—sketch it for us, we want to know how it worked. And sometimes just asking the question, you get answers.”
In an interview with Variety, he added: “As Israelis, we found ourselves wanting to use the kind of position that we have—the access that we have to people in our own society who went into the military—to look at that system as it carried out what all human rights organizations are saying is a genocide.”
The film is produced by The Guardian, alongside James Wilson and Jonathan Glazer, the team behind The Zone of Interest. Glazer's involvement adds another layer of resonance, given his own controversial remarks about the conflict.
With Venice concluding tomorrow, the question is whether NAZA can become only the third documentary to win the Golden Lion, following Sacro GRA (2013) and All The Beauty and the Bloodshed (2022). The rapturous reception suggests it has a strong chance.
Beyond Venice, NAZA will screen at the San Sebastián International Film Festival on 23 September and at the New York Film Festival on 26 September. French distributor MK2 Films holds world sales rights, though no theatrical release date has been announced yet.
The film arrives amid heightened scrutiny of Israel's actions in Gaza, with international courts and human rights groups documenting widespread civilian casualties. For European audiences, NAZA offers a rare insider perspective on the mechanisms of modern warfare—and the moral compromises of those who carry it out.
