NAZA Joins Venice Competition Lineup

The 83rd Venice International Film Festival has added "NAZA," a documentary by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, to its main competition, according to the German Press Agency (dpa), citing the organizers on Monday. The addition comes just days before the festival opens September 2.

The film will have its world premiere at Venice on September 10 and will compete for the Golden Lion. It is the only documentary among the 21 films in competition this year, as reported by the Jerusalem Post.

The Documentary and Its Content

According to the festival's press release, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post, the film "was shot at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, [and] examines Israeli military systems used in the Gaza war and focuses on Palestinian civilian casualties." The documentary draws on investigations published between 2023 and 2025 by +972 Magazine, Local Call, and The Guardian, according to the Jerusalem Post.

The festival's synopsis states that the film reveals "in detail the systems behind Israel's calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza," as reported by Malay Mail. The term "NAZA" is a Hebrew military acronym for "collateral damage," and in the context of the film refers to estimates of civilian casualties anticipated in airstrikes, according to the Jerusalem Post. The Guardian, which co-produced the film, described the acronym as "military acronym euphemistically used by Israeli intelligence to indicate the number of civilians that it expects will be killed in an airstrike," as cited by Malay Mail.

Throughout the conflict, the Israeli military insisted it was aiming only at terrorists and seeking to avoid civilian casualties, as reported by Malay Mail.

Production Team and Filmmaker Pedigree

NAZA was produced by The Guardian and James Wilson of JW Films, in collaboration with Placeholder Films and Unseen Hand, according to the Jerusalem Post. Jonathan Glazer serves as executive producer, as reported by both Malay Mail and the Jerusalem Post. Wilson and Glazer previously collaborated on "The Zone of Interest," which won the Academy Award for Best International Feature Film in 2024.

Abraham and Szor previously collaborated with Palestinian filmmakers Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal on "No Other Land," a documentary about the Masafer Yatta region in the West Bank. That film won a documentary award at the 2024 Berlin International Film Festival and later won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2025, according to the Jerusalem Post.

Controversy and Criticism

"No Other Land" has generated mixed reactions in Israel. On one hand, many have praised it for shedding light on the conflict; however, it has also drawn criticism. For instance, Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar denounced its Oscar victory, and others have criticized the film for omitting context and facts, as reported by the Jerusalem Post. At the Berlin awards ceremony, Abraham accused the Israeli government of "apartheid," which prompted accusations of anti-Semitism, according to Malay Mail.

At the Oscars, Abraham called for an end to the destruction in Gaza while also calling for the release of the Israeli hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7. In his Oscar speech, as quoted by the Jerusalem Post, Abraham said: "We made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger."

Other Israel-Related Film at Venice

The Jerusalem Post also noted that another film with ties to it, Amos Giambattista's "The Road to Jericho," will be presented in the Venice Open – Out of Competition section. According to the Jerusalem Post, this French-British-Israeli production follows a journey from Jerusalem toward Jericho and examines the Israeli-Palestinian conflict through the legacy of the Oslo process and the Bedouin community of Khan al-Ahmar.

Festival Details

The Venice Film Festival runs September 2-12. With the premiere set for September 10, NAZA will debut less than a week before the festival concludes.