A new documentary titled NAZA, directed by filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, will premiere next month at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in Italy.
The film is the only documentary selected among the 21 feature films competing for the Golden Lion, the festival's highest honor.
According to a synopsis published on the festival website, the documentary examines the systems behind the calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza by Israel. British newspaper The Guardian explained that NAZA is an Israeli military acronym used euphemistically by Israeli intelligence services to indicate the number of civilians expected to die in an airstrike.
The documentary will be screened on September 10 in the presence of its directors, producers, journalists from The Guardian, and the official delegation.
NAZA is produced by The Guardian and James Wilson of JW Films, with Jonathan Glazer serving as executive producer.
Directors Abraham and Szor previously worked as co-directors on the Oscar-winning Israeli-Palestinian production No Other Land, which documented Palestinian activists defending villages in the occupied West Bank from demolition by the Israeli military. Producer Wilson and executive producer Glazer previously collaborated on the Oscar-winning drama The Zone of Interest, which was set at the Auschwitz concentration camp.
Documentary Competition and Middle East Conflict
The Venice International Film Festival, held annually on the Lido island in Venice, is the world's oldest film festival. Founded in 1932 as part of the Venice Biennale, the event attracts international filmmakers, critics, and industry executives every late summer.
The festival presentation comes amid continuing conflict in the Middle East. The Palestinian movement Hamas launched an attack against Israel on October 7, 2023, which resulted in the death of 1,221 people, according to a tally by news agency AFP based on official Israeli figures. Islamist fighters also took 251 hostages into the Gaza Strip during the raid.
Israel's military response in Gaza has left more than 73,000 people dead, according to figures from the Ministry of Health in the Palestinian territory, which operates under Hamas authority. The United Nations considers these casualty figures to be reliable. A ceasefire was established in October, but progress toward a definitive end to the war has stalled, with Israeli military forces currently controlling nearly 70 percent of the territory.
Venice4Palestine Open Letter and Protests
The 2026 edition of the festival is also set to host political protests surrounding the war. A campaign group called Venice4Palestine has released an open letter urging the festival to sever ties with institutions linked to the Israeli government. Prominent signatories of the appeal include musician Roger Waters, Nobel Prize-winning author Annie Ernaux, Italian director Matteo Garrone, and Spanish filmmaker Isabel Coixet.
In a statement issued one year after its initial call to action, Venice4Palestine urged the Venice Biennale, the Venice International Film Festival, and industry professionals across the audiovisual sector to take concrete steps in support of Palestine. Their specific demands include greater operational transparency across the film industry, the cancellation of agreements with organizations connected to the Israeli government, and the creation of protective measures for professionals who choose to end such affiliations.
The collective also announced a scheduled panel discussion titled And yet, Gaza continues to burn: What is the point of looking if we do not act? Among the leading signers, Waters is a founding member of the rock group Pink Floyd, while Ernaux won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 2022. Garrone directed the acclaimed dramas Gomorrah and Io Capitano, and Coixet is a multi-award-winning Spanish film director.
Lifetime Achievement Tribute for George Clooney
The festival organization announced over the weekend that American actress Laura Dern will deliver the tribute speech for George Clooney. Clooney, an actor, director, and producer, will be honored on Wednesday, September 2, with the Golden Lion for Lifetime Achievement.
Festival representatives commended Clooney for his ongoing activism, citing his long-standing commitment to social and humanitarian causes as qualities that make him a prominent figure in modern entertainment. Dern, an Academy Award-winning actress known for her roles in film and television, will present the award during the official ceremony.
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival runs through September, with 21 films vying for the main prize. The official premiere of NAZA on September 10 will mark one of the central documentary events of the competition.
