NAZA Tops Italian Box Office Amid Controversy Over Its Solely Israeli Perspective

Key points

• Box Office Success: 'NAZA' grossed approximately €1.1 million in its first two days in Italy, beating the Marvel re-release 'Avengers: Endgame Encore,' which earned €356,000. The film’s run has been extended due to high demand, and it is set to release in over 50 territories, with a free global release via The Guardian planned for late November.
• Content and Methodology: Directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the film consists of nighttime interviews with 24 anonymous Israeli intelligence officers and soldiers. Their faces and voices are obscured, and they describe the use of AI, drone warfare, and the 'NAZA' metric (collateral damage) to justify strikes. The film includes hand-drawn sketches by the subjects depicting Palestinians, varying in detail to reflect their dehumanization of the targets.
• Political Backlash: Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has proposed legislation to revoke the citizenship of the filmmakers, and Culture Minister Miki Zohar accused them of treason. The Israeli military denied the film’s allegations, insisting that strike decisions are made by human personnel only, though the film suggests AI systems play a significant role in identifying targets based on social patterns.
• Critical Debate: Critics are divided on the film’s effectiveness. Some argue that excluding Palestinian voices makes it a 'missed opportunity' to center the victims, while others view it as an essential 'ontological survey' of state-sponsored violence that counters genocide denial. The film won a 24.5-minute ovation at Venice and is being compared to historical records of the Holocaust and Nuremberg trials.

Background

The release of 'NAZA' follows earlier coverage of its Venice premiere and the subsequent Israeli government response, which included proposals to remove film festivals from state funding and create a new strand celebrating IDF heroism. The film builds on investigative reporting from The Guardian, +972 Magazine, and Local Call published between 2023 and 2025, which first revealed the extent of Israeli surveillance operations in Gaza following the October 7, 2023, attacks. The documentary’s distribution strategy, spearheaded by The Guardian and MK2, bypasses traditional studio models to reach audiences quickly, reflecting a broader shift in independent film distribution seen in recent festival markets.

How outlets are covering it

Roger Ebert’s review praises 'NAZA' as a 'harrowing' and 'essential historical document,' arguing that its focus on Israeli voices serves as a 'journalistic piece rendered in real time' that validates the reality of genocide, even without Palestinian input. In contrast, Gal Beckerman of The Atlantic calls it a 'missed opportunity,' arguing that the film distances viewers from the war by focusing on the 'thoughtlessness' of the perpetrators rather than the suffering of the victims, and notes that only one interviewee uses the word 'genocide.' M. Gessen of The New York Times (via The Salt Lake Tribune) emphasizes the 'industrial scale' of the violence, arguing that the word 'genocide' is so powerful it need only be spoken once, and highlights the chilling casualness with which soldiers describe their actions. Variety focuses on the commercial success and distribution strategy, noting the film’s box office performance and its unconventional release plan, while acknowledging the political controversy surrounding its production and reception.

Why it matters

The film’s success and controversy highlight the ongoing struggle over the narrative of the Gaza war, particularly regarding the role of technology and state surveillance in civilian casualties. Its box office performance suggests a significant public appetite for unfiltered, first-person accounts of military operations, even when told from the perspective of the state accused of genocide. The political backlash in Israel, including threats to strip citizenship, underscores the high stakes of such documentary work and the potential for legal repercussions against journalists and filmmakers. The film’s distribution strategy, bypassing traditional studios, may set a precedent for how sensitive political documentaries are released in the future, potentially influencing how other war-related stories are told and received by global audiences.

What to watch

The film is set to open in U.S. theaters at the IFC Center in New York City on Wednesday, followed by a wider release in over 50 territories. A free global release via The Guardian is planned for late November. In Israel, the political fallout is expected to continue, with potential legislative actions against the filmmakers and ongoing debates within the Israeli film industry about state funding and the role of festivals. The film’s impact on public opinion and international pressure on Israel regarding the Gaza war will likely be a subject of continued analysis and debate in the coming months.