NAZA producer James Wilson defends directors over threats and political backlash
NAZA producer James Wilson has defended co-directors Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham over threats and political criticism aimed at the film, speaking during an onstage conversation at the BFI London Film Festival.
Wilson said much of the criticism of the documentary, and the threats against its directors, had come largely from people who had not seen it, according to Deadline. They are safe, he said. They are okay.
He described the response from members of the Israeli government as a "hysterical, vituperative, aggressive backlash". Threats to revoke the directors' citizenship had been "very difficult, stressful, horrible and scary" for them, he said.
The backlash began after the film's premiere season. Israel's culture minister, Miki Zohar, criticised Abraham and Szor and accused them of being willing to harm their homeland in order to receive applause, as reported by The Guardian. The directors were also accused of treason over the film, a charge that prompted members of the film industry to rally in support of them.
The International Documentary Association later called on the Israeli government to withdraw its threats against Abraham and Szor, in a statement published on 24 September.
NAZA takes its title from the Israeli military's Hebrew acronym for the number of civilians who could die when tallying an estimated death toll ahead of a strike. The film is built around nighttime rooftop interviews with 24 Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers, filmed against the Tel Aviv skyline.
It was produced by The Guardian and JW Films, the production company run by Wilson, a longtime collaborator of Jonathan Glazer, the director of The Zone of Interest, according to Deadline. NAZA won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival, as reported by El País, and started its United States rollout in early October.
Wilson said the wider response had been different in tone. The majority reaction to the film has been extremely positive, he said, and the critical reaction extraordinarily positive.
