NAZA, an 80-minute investigative documentary built on testimony from Israeli military and intelligence personnel about the killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, opened at No. 1 at the Italian box office this week. It beat a re-release of Marvel's “Avengers: Endgame” and drew screening extensions in more than 150 cinemas. The documentary received a record 25-minute standing ovation at the recently concluded Venice Film Festival. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was furious and threatened to strip the film's makers of Israeli citizenship.
NAZA was built on secret night-time interviews with 24 anonymous Israeli military and intelligence personnel, who explain how AI-assisted targeting systems work and how expected civilian deaths are weighed before airstrikes. Its title comes from an acronym reportedly used within Israeli intelligence for the number of civilians expected to die in an airstrike. Its central claim is that high Palestinian civilian death tolls were factored into targeting decisions, with targets struck despite expected casualties. Some interviewees say they witnessed civilians being killed and residential areas used as shelters being set ablaze. The sources' identities, voices and appearances were altered, and Israeli authorities are reportedly trying to identify them.
The documentary made €451,872 ($510,000) from 60,467 tickets on its opening Monday, September 28, according to Italian tracker Cinetel. That was more than twice the Avengers re-release's €179,612 for the day. By Tuesday night, its cumulative gross was about €1.1 million from nearly 147,000 tickets, against roughly €356,000 for the Marvel title over the same period, according to reports citing Cinetel.
NAZA opened in 515 Italian cinemas as a three-day event, and many screenings sold out. Italian distributor I Wonder Pictures said it would keep the film on screens for as long as theatres want it. The Guardian, which produced the documentary, said more than 150 cinemas had extended their programming, with more expected, The New Arab reported.
Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four co-directors of the Oscar-winning “No Other Land”, directed the documentary. They filmed the documentary over three years to show how AI-assisted targeting systems were used to attack civilian targets. Reports say much of the 80-minute film was shot in secret night-time conversations in Tel Aviv. NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on September 12. Its premiere drew a standing ovation of about 25 minutes, reported as a festival record.
Israeli threats
In his X post, Israeli Culture Minister Miki Zohar accused the directors of being willing to “harm their homeland in order to receive applause from antisemites around the world.” He called for the directors’ citizenship to be revoked for “treason against the state” and also asked Israel's internal security service, Shin Bet, to examine how the material was obtained. "I will act immediately to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these despicable creators for treason against the state," he added on X.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu then announced two bills. One would allow citizenship to be revoked from people who “defame” Israeli soldiers abroad, and the other would raise defamation damages twentyfold. Neither has become law. Army chief Eyal Zamir said military lawyers were examining legal action, and several outlets reported he ordered a probe to identify the film's anonymous sources. The Committee to Protect Journalists called the campaign a dangerous escalation against journalists.
Global rollout
The film is releasing in 56 territories. It was released in the United States on September 30 at New York's IFC Center and expands to Los Angeles and other cities on October 9, after its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival. The Guardian will stream it free worldwide on its website from late November. NAZA’s director Abraham said the decision was made because of the film’s public importance. The Guardian is also trying to arrange screenings in Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories. "We made this film out of a sense of obligation to use our position as Israelis," Abraham and Szor said when they announced the distribution plan.
