NAZA review: Portrait of Israel as a nation stuck in a moral abyss

NAZA, a film directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, has been hailed as a powerful portrait of Israel as a nation caught in a moral abyss. The film, which premiered at the Venice International Film Festival, exposes the extent to which the Israeli military utilized AI in its operations during the Gaza genocide.

Released just nine days before the festival began, NAZA received a 25-minute standing ovation upon its premiere and later won the Special Jury Prize. The film's revelations about the systems behind Israel's calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza have been met with intense reaction, both in Israel and internationally.

Although some of the findings in NAZA have been previously reported by organizations such as Al Jazeera, The Guardian, Forensic Architecture, and +972, the film's unflinching portrayal of the horrors in Gaza forces viewers to confront the bleak reality of the genocide. NAZA is not aimed at Arabs or supporters of the Palestinian cause, but rather at Israelis who still deny the truth, as well as the indifferent millions worldwide who may begin to question their convictions.

The film's release has sparked intense conversation, particularly in Israel, where commercial distribution is unlikely due to the political climate. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and other politicians have called for Abraham and Szor to be stripped of their Israeli citizenship. The Israeli Film Council has recommended state funding for films celebrating Israeli soldiers, while Haaretz columnist Gideon Levy describes NAZA as eliciting a nationwide uproar.