NAZA wins Special Jury Prize at Venice after late entry to competition
NAZA, an 80-minute documentary directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival on 12 September La Biennale.
The film had been a late addition to Venezia 83 Competition, the festival's main contest section Deadline. It is listed in the official awards as a United Kingdom entry by Abraham and Szor La Biennale.
Abraham and Szor are Israeli filmmakers AP. They were two of the four directors of No Other Land, which won the Academy Award for documentary feature Deadline.
NAZA investigates Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza Deadline. It draws on interviews with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers speaking on condition of anonymity. The participants were filmed in silhouette with digitally altered voices to conceal their identities.
The title is an acronym. NAZA stands for Nezek Agavi, a Hebrew term used by the Israel Defense Forces to signify collateral damage Deadline. Sources interviewed in the film state the acceptable collateral damage per attack ranged from under a dozen people to 200 or even 500 people.
Whistleblowers in the film claim Israeli intelligence used artificial intelligence to determine human targets through a programme called Lavender Deadline. Sources interviewed state up to 70,000 human targets were determined by the system. The Lavender programme was first reported by +972 Magazine and Local Call, with additional reporting by The Guardian. The Guardian is one of the producers of NAZA.
The response was short. An IDF spokesperson responded to the film by saying, "The IDF categorically rejects these allegations" Deadline.
At Venice, the film received a 25-minute standing ovation at its premiere Al Jazeera. It had been scheduled to screen in competition on 10 September at 5:15pm, after being added to the programme on 24 August. A public screening followed on 11 September at 17:00 at the PalaBiennale.
On the business side, Jonathan Glazer is credited as an executive producer, a senior credit often linked to financing or support The Hollywood Reporter. JW Films is credited as a production company. Sales, the licensing of distribution rights to buyers by territory, were launched by mk2 Films The Hollywood Reporter.
The 83rd Venice International Film Festival ran on the Lido di Venezia from 2 to 12 September 2026. It was organised by La Biennale di Venezia, with awards announced by five international juries at a ceremony on 12 September at 7:00pm.
