‘Not Easy To Stand Here’: NAZA Director Yuval Abraham On Winning Special Jury Prize At Venice Film Festival

NAZA, directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, has won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. Produced by The Guardian, the documentary examines alleged systems used by the Israeli military in Gaza and features testimony from 24 Israeli military officers.

NAZA wins Special Jury Prize at Venice

A late addition to the Venice lineup, NAZA received a reported 25-minute standing ovation after its premiere. Shot clandestinely at night from rooftops in Tel Aviv over three years, the film uses interviews with Israeli military sources whose identities have been concealed.

The Guardian and James Wilson produced the film, with Jonathan Glazer serving as executive producer. Abraham and Szor are also two of the four directors of No Other Land, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary.

Yuval Abraham addresses Gaza in winning speech

Accepting the prize alongside Szor, Abraham said, “It's honestly not very easy to stand here." He added, “I'm thinking of all the people — the Israeli politicians, the journalists back home — who are now attacking this film, denying it, without even seeing it.”

Abraham further said, "And so much is being done to not look at reality. The reality is that since this festival started, just over these 10 days, Israel killed at least six Palestinian children in Gaza: a three-year-old girl at a school that was bombed, a seven-year-old with her father in a car, two sisters at home sleeping. The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us about how this mass killing is systemic, not by accident but by design, actions and murder that are based on total dehumanisation of the Palestinians.”

He also said, "I want to be very clear: This truth has been documented and is known from the very first day, thanks to Palestinian journalists, [and] more than 200 journalists have been killed in Gaza by the Israelis; their voices were silenced and denied.”

IDF rejects NAZA allegations

The Israel Defence Forces has rejected the allegations made in NAZA, saying the anonymous testimonies cannot be verified. On claims that AI systems are used to identify targets, the IDF said humans make strike decisions and that it makes efforts to minimise civilian harm.

The film’s global theatrical release date has not yet been announced. Its Special Jury Prize marks another major recognition for Abraham and Szor, following the international success of No Other Land.