The 83rd Venice International Film Festival announced this week that it has added NAZA, a highly charged new documentary by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four directors of the Oscar-winning No Other Land, to its main competition.<\/p>\n
NAZA 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.<\/p>\n
According to the press release, the film \u201cwas shot at night on rooftops in Tel Aviv, [and] examines Israeli military systems used in the Gaza war<\/a> and focuses on Palestinian civilian casualties.\u201d<\/p>\n The film draws on investigations published between 2023 and 2025 by +972 Magazine and Local Call, as well as The Guardian.<\/p>\n The title, NAZA, refers to the Hebrew military acronym short for \u201ccollateral damage\u201d and, in the context of the film, refers to estimates of civilian casualties anticipated in airstrikes.<\/p>\n The film was produced by The Guardian and James Wilson of JW Films, in collaboration with Placeholder Films and Unseen Hand. Jonathan Glazer is executive producer. Wilson and Glazer were part of the Oscar-winning team behind The Zone of Interest.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n \u201cWe made this film, Palestinians and Israelis, because together our voices are stronger,\u201d he said in his acceptance speech.<\/p>\n No Other Land and its directors generated controversy in Israel, with Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar denouncing its Oscar victory and many criticizing it for omitting context and facts.<\/p>\n