Neon has joined The Guardian, MK2, James Wilson and Jonathan Glazer on explosive doc NAZA from Oscar-winning Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the co-directors of No Other Land.
The film was released independently in the U.S. on September 30 in 85 theaters across 30 cities. Overseas, the film has secured theatrical distribution in more than 50 countries. Neon will now work with the filmmakers to expand its footprint and to “reach larger audiences and communities”.
The deal was negotiated by MK2 Films, who boarded the film for sales prior to the Venice film festival, and Neon.
The Venice Film Festival debut charts secret conversations on the rooftops of Tel Aviv at night which “reveal the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza by the people who designed and operated them.”
Neon stated: “Yuval and Rachel have created one of the best films of the year; it’s an extraordinary work of art and eyewitness testimony that stands alongside landmark documentaries like Laura Poitras’ Citizenfour and Joshua Oppenheimer’s The Act Of Killing. At the heart of Neon’s mission is a commitment to championing the best cinema from around the world. We’re proud to join the incredible team already working on the film and help bring it to the widest audience possible.”
The documentary received its world premiere in competition at the Venice International Film Festival where it won the Special Jury Prize and received a record-breaking twenty-five-minute standing ovation. The film later screened at the San Sebastián International Film Festival (winning the audience award) and New York Film Festival. This week, it won the Critics Prize at the Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival. The film is nominated for three Critics Choice Documentary Awards including Best Documentary, Best Director(s) and Best Political Documentary. It is also included on DOC NYC’s Short List.
The documentary is produced by The Guardian with producer James Wilson’s JW Films in association with Placeholder Films and Unseen Hand. Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest) executive-produced.