Israeli Gaza documentary 'NAZA' wins Special Jury Prize at Venice Film Festival
Directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor received the award following a 25-minute premiere ovation for their film based on 24 Israeli intelligence whistleblowers.
Festival reception and jury decision
The 80-minute documentary NAZA, directed by Israeli investigative journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received the Special Jury Prize at the 2026 Venice Film Festival on Saturday night. The award from the jury, presided over by Maggie Gyllenhaal, followed a 25-minute standing ovation at the film's Thursday premiere on the Venice Lido. While Danish director May el-Toukhy took the top Golden Lion prize for Woman Unknown, NAZA had entered the closing ceremony as a critical favourite. The project follows Abraham and Szor's previous collaboration No Other Land, which won an Academy Award in 2025 alongside Palestinian co-directors Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal.
- NAZA premieres at the Venice Film Festival, receiving a 25-minute standing ovation
- The Israeli military issues a statement rejecting the film's whistleblower testimonies
- The festival jury awards the Special Jury Prize to directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor
Whistleblower accounts of automated warfare
The film draws on testimonies from 24 anonymous members of Israeli military intelligence services, whose faces are obscured and voices distorted on screen. Interviewees describe deploying artificial intelligence targeting systems during the bombardment of the Gaza Strip, with several subjects comparing their military duties to operating a factory or playing a video game. Abraham and Szor, who live in Jerusalem, shot nighttime footage in Tel Aviv near military headquarters. The documentary was produced with British filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, producer Jim Wilson, and the British newspaper The Guardian, whose investigative unit reviewed the evidence and protected source confidentiality.
Abraham's address on the Lido stage
Accepting the prize alongside Szor, Abraham used his acceptance speech to denounce military operations in Gaza and foreign diplomatic backing. He stated that during the ten days of the festival, Israeli strikes killed at least six Palestinian children, including a three-year-old girl in a school shelter, a seven-year-old boy travelling with his father in a car, and two sisters in their home. Abraham also cited the deaths of more than 200 Palestinian journalists in the enclave since the conflict expanded in October 2023.
Abraham addressed the responsibilities of domestic and foreign audiences directly from the stage.
The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us how this mass killing is systemic: not by accident, but by design, actions of murder and policies that are based on the total dehumanisation of Palestinians.
Abraham urged citizens in Israel, the United States, Italy, and Germany to watch the production. He argued that Washington finances the military campaign, while Rome and Berlin continue to block diplomatic pressure on Israel.
It's our country that is doing these crimes.
Official response and context
The Israeli military issued a formal statement on Friday rejecting the documentary's allegations. Military officials stated that the anonymous accounts could not be verified, denied the operational use of AI targeting programmes as depicted, and stated that armed forces make efforts to minimize civilian casualties. According to data from the Gaza health ministry, Israeli operations have caused roughly 73,500 deaths and 174,500 injuries in Gaza since October 2023, following the Hamas-led attack on 7 October 2023 that killed 1,219 people in Israel.
