Gaza documentary Naza receives record-breaking 25-minute ovation at Venice Film Festival

Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor captivated the Venice Film Festival audience with their documentary, Naza. The film, which delves into the Israeli military's targeting processes in Gaza, received a record-breaking 25-minute standing ovation during its premiere. This ovation surpassed the previous record set by a Tunisian film at the same festival the previous year.

Abraham and Szor, who are also directors of the Oscar-winning No Other Land, appeared visibly moved by the audience's enthusiastic response. The 80-minute documentary features in-depth interviews with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers, conducted in secrecy. The filmmakers' goal was to gain detailed insights into the systems used to select targets in Gaza, with one interviewee describing the process as resembling a "mass-scale factory."

The film also examines the destruction of civilian homes and attitudes within the Israeli military and intelligence services towards Palestinian civilians. Despite the sensitive nature of the subject matter, Abraham expressed pride in being able to access military and intelligence sources as Israeli citizens. The film's title, Naza, refers to Israeli intelligence's term for collateral damage, indicating the number of civilians expected to be killed in an air strike.