Human Rights, Justice & Society
Gaza documentary NAZA gets 25-minute Venice ovation
Israeli-made documentary “NAZA”, about alleged AI-assisted killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, received a 25-minute ovation at its Venice Film Festival premiere on Thursday, AFP reported.
AFP said the audience clapped continuously for Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after the screening. The ovation was described as possibly a new Venice record, after a 23-minute ovation last year for another film about Gaza. Festival ovations can be influenced and are an imperfect measure, but they can show the reaction among festival-goers and critics.
The 80-minute film uses conversations with 24 Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers who spoke on condition that their identities be protected. Abraham told AFP the aim was to let soldiers and officers describe “how the systems of killing in Gaza looked like, how they operated.”
The film describes an AI-powered system known as “Lavender” that interviewees said was used to identify people for assassination. Several interviewees described remote targeting as a killing “factory” or compared it to a video game. The film's title refers to what the directors describe as an Israeli intelligence euphemism for the number of civilians expected to be killed in an airstrike.
Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians in Gaza and accuses Hamas of hiding among civilians in the densely populated enclave.
Gaza's Hamas-run health ministry says Israel's bombardment of Gaza has killed about 73,500 Palestinians and wounded 174,500 since October 2023. The United Nations deems the ministry's figures reliable. The war followed the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack inside Israel, which killed 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
“NAZA” is the only documentary in competition at this year's Venice Film Festival, which ends on Saturday. Abraham and Szor previously worked with Palestinians Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal on “No Other Land”, which won the 2025 Oscar for best documentary.
Update
The documentary is 80 minutes long and uses conversations with 24 Israeli military or intelligence whistleblowers whose identities are protected.
The film details an AI-powered system known as “Lavender” that interviewees said was used to identify people for assassination.
Interviewees in the film described their work as a killing “factory” and compared remote targeting to a video game.
The film was produced by Jim Wilson with help from Jonathan Glazer's team and Britain's Guardian newspaper.
Yuval Abraham said he hoped Western nations would stop backing Israel and apply pressure through sanctions.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 18:17:29 UTC.
Update
AFP witnessed a continuous 25-minute ovation for Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor after the screening.
The ovation was longer than the 23-minute ovation reported last year for "The Voice of Hind Rajab".
Onlookers shouted "Free Palestine!" and "Free Israel!" as the directors arrived on the red carpet.
AFP noted that festival ovations can be manipulated and are an imperfect measure of a film's quality or prospects.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 17:32:05 UTC.
Update
The Israeli-made film about killings in Gaza received a 25-minute ovation at its Venice premiere, AFP reported.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 17:08:57 UTC.
Update
The film was produced by Britain's Jim Wilson with help from Jonathan Glazer and Britain's Guardian newspaper.
The directors said they hoped the film would encourage Western nations to drop support for Israel and apply pressure through sanctions.
The film was a late addition to the Venice Film Festival's top competition, where several Gaza-related films were selected.
Susan Sarandon claimed public awareness and the narrative around Gaza and US support for Israel had changed.
The Committee to Protect Journalists says more than 200 Palestinian journalists have been killed in Gaza since October 2023.
Source note: AFP news report published on 10 September 2026 at 14:13:19 UTC.
Uncertainty notes
The film's central allegations rely on protected-identity testimony and are denied by Israel.
The claim that the ovation set a Venice record was presented as uncertain.
Foreign journalists have been prevented from reporting from Gaza except under tightly controlled conditions with the Israeli military.
Source
AFP news report published on .