Naza wins Venice special jury prize as Kaouther Ben Hania praises Gaza documentary

Naza, a documentary directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, has been awarded the special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival for its examination of Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Juror Kaouther Ben Hania praised the film for its documentation of ongoing events, emphasizing that the filmmakers were able to capture testimonies anonymously despite the constraints.

Ben Hania, speaking at the post-awards news conference, commended the directors for their vision and the importance of the movie in a time of denial and ongoing genocide. The Danish-Egyptian director May el-Toukhy’s film, Woman Unknown, won the Golden Lion, following a 24-minute ovation at its premiere. Naza, produced by The Guardian and James Wilson with Jonathan Glazer as an executive producer, is a three-year investigation featuring interviews with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers.

The title derives from an Israeli military term indicating the expected number of civilian casualties in an air strike, focusing on the use of artificial intelligence in target selection and the presence of civilians during operations.