Israel-Gaza War Documentary ‘NAZA’ Gets 25-Minute Ovation at Venice Film Festival

Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor’s new Oscar winning documentary ‘NAZA’ received a commanding response at the Venice Film Festival, winning 25-minute standing ovation from festival-goers after its Thursday premiere.

The documentary concentrations on the part of AI and surveillance systems in Israel’s military operations in Gaza. The filmmakers converse with 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers while protecting their identities.

While enlightening about the project, Abraham said that the moviemakers intended to listen to direct from soldiers and officers about how the systems functioned in Gaza and how the killings took place.

At the center of the 80-minute documentary is ‘Lavender,’ an AI-powered system reportedly used to select targets for assassination. Examinees defined their experiences and said the method made rivalry feel like a factory or a video game because many operations were conceded out remotely.

Check Out:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by The Manila Times (@themanilatimes)

The film also discovers assertions of extensive damage of citizen homes, contempt for humanitarian laws and what one interviewee defined as a general atmosphere of hatred toward Palestinians.

NAZA, a Gaza documentary that has become the only documentary among the 21 films competing for this year’s Golden Lion. Its maker were among the four directors behind No Other Land, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2025, which focused on the destruction of Palestinian communities in Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank and followed local activists fighting against displacement.

The documentary lands as the Gaza fight continues, which initiated after the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The war has faced increasing criticism around the world, when Israel rejects claims of deliberately targeting civilians and says Hamas operates among the population.

The filmmakers said they hope ‘NAZA’ will reassure Western countries to review their backing for Israel and rise stress for political variation.