Venice Adds Gaza Documentary 'NAZA' to Competition as MK2 Boards Sales

A documentary about the civilian toll of the Israel-Hamas war has been added to the Venice Film Festival's competition lineup, and French sales company MK2 Films has boarded international rights. Variety reported both moves on 25 August 2026.

The film is titled 'NAZA,' directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor — the two Israeli co-directors of 'No Other Land,' which won the 2025 Academy Award for best documentary. Their collaborators on that film, Hamdan Ballal and Basel Adra, are Palestinian; 'No Other Land' premiered at the Berlin Film Festival and documented the demolition of Palestinian homes in Masafer Yatta, in the occupied West Bank.

'NAZA' is the only documentary feature in this year's Venice competition, a field of up to 21 world-premiere films. It is also the Competition debut for Abraham and Szor, who are among ten first-time directors in the 83rd edition's slate. La Biennale di Venezia confirmed the addition on 24 August.

The film runs 80 minutes, in Hebrew and English, and is scheduled to screen on 10 September at 09:00. The 83rd Venice Film Festival runs 2–12 September.

According to its official synopsis, 'NAZA' shows "in detail the systems behind Israel's calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza." The title refers to a military acronym that, per an MK2 Films statement, Israeli intelligence uses euphemistically to indicate the number of civilians expected to be killed in a given airstrike. The film was shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv. Variety reported these details.

'NAZA' is a Guardian production with JW Films, in association with Placeholder Films and Unseen Hand. The producer is James Wilson, and the executive producer is Jonathan Glazer. Wilson and Glazer are the Oscar-winning team behind 'The Zone of Interest,' which won the 2024 Academy Award for best international feature film. The documentary builds on reporting first published by the Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972, Hebrew-language site Local Call, and The Guardian between 2023 and 2025, according to promotional materials.

MK2's CEO Nathanaël Karmitz and managing director Fionnuala Jamison both issued statements on the film. For a sales company of MK2's standing — the Paris-based outfit handles auteur cinema and operates theatres across Europe — boarding a title this late in the festival cycle, after the competition selection is already locked, signals urgency rather than a long-gestating deal. International buyers will get their first look at the Venice premiere on 10 September, with no distribution deals yet announced.