NAZA Gaza documentary reaches UK cinemas after Venice premiere and Italy opening

A Guardian-produced documentary about Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza has reached cinemas in Britain in the week of 16 October 2026.

The film, titled NAZA, is planned for screening in more than 50 countries, according to The Guardian. It arrived in Britain after a premiere at the Venice Film Festival that earned an ovation, according to Variety. It later won a special jury prize at Venice, according to Variety. In September it topped the box-office chart on opening in Italy.

It runs 80 minutes. The core of the film is 24 interviews with Israeli military insiders, recorded anonymously on rooftops in Tel Aviv at night.

The interviewees helped remotely target homes in Gaza, according to The Guardian. The film alleges that mass civilian deaths were routinely built into Israeli military targeting decisions in Gaza, as reported by Reuters. It was directed by Israeli journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor.

Jonathan Glazer served as executive producer, a senior credit that normally involves support and backing rather than day-to-day direction, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The team self-distributed the film, meaning it was put into cinemas without a traditional distribution company. It had grossed $500,000 at the box office by 12 October 2026 and had sparked pro-Israel protests, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

A U.S. theatrical release, meaning a cinema release in America, was arranged in September, according to Variety. Plans also called for combined theatrical and free online availability around the world. The Guardian reported in October 2026 that NAZA would be available free on its website from late November.

Reviewers in several countries have responded in strong terms, as collected in a Guardian round-up on 16 October 2026. In Britain, Financial Times reviewer Danny Leigh gave the film five stars, Guardian reviewer Peter Bradshaw gave it four stars, and The Times called it a hugely provocative and disturbing account of Israel's mass killing of civilians in Gaza. British Vogue called it a brilliant and harrowing film.

In the United States, The New York Times made it a Critic's Choice, a label for films its reviewers recommend, and called it a haunting documentary that is tough to watch and impossible to ignore. The Los Angeles Times called it a stone-cold frightening film that burns the conscience. New York magazine described it as one of the most important films of our time, The Hollywood Reporter described it as a sober and thoroughly documented bombshell of an expose, and the Toronto Star described it as heartbreaking but essential viewing.

Elsewhere, Spain's El Mundo hailed it as the film of our time and a superb, electrifying and devastating documentary about the systematic model of annihilation of the Palestinian people. France's Le Monde said it has the effect of an uppercut that leaves the viewer stunned. Denmark's Soundvenue called it a soul-crushing testimony to the genocide in Gaza, while The National in the United Arab Emirates called it a sickeningly tough film to watch. The Irish Times called it an essential record of engineered nightmare, and an editorial in Haaretz in Israel said it is trying to force Israelis to confront that Israel's conduct of the war in Gaza has left a black stain.

The film has also drawn official criticism in Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called it "shocking incitement" in September 2026, and stepped up threats against its directors that month, as reported by Reuters. The Israeli army chief ordered a legal review of the documentary, and the IDF chief said it constitutes "an attack on the State of Israel", according to The Hollywood Reporter. A rebuttal film titled 'NAZA: The Real Story', made by IDF reserve members, surfaced online in early October, according to Variety.