'NAZA' Director Blasts U.S. 'Funding' of Gaza at NYFF — SkimNews
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- NAZA made its North American premiere at the New York Film Festival, receiving a massive standing ovation during a Q&A with co-directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor and festival director Dennis Lim
- Yuval Abraham told the NYFF crowd: 'This is what your country is supporting and funding,' arguing the film's purpose is to 'make denial of what's going on in Gaza harder'
- The documentary, shot on Tel Aviv rooftops at night, premiered at the Venice Film Festival earlier this month where it won a special jury prize and received a record-breaking 24.5-minute standing ovation
- Benjamin Netanyahu called for legislation to 'revoke the citizenship of anyone who slanders IDF soldiers' after the Venice debut, and Israel's Minister of Culture directly threatened to revoke the filmmakers' Israeli citizenship
- The Israeli-American Council organized a 50-plus person protest outside the NYFF screening, projecting October 7 footage and portraits of victims on LED trucks while calling the film 'anti-Israel'
- NAZA is set to release in more than 50 territories before becoming available to stream for free on The Guardian's website
Why it matters: Netanyahu's push for a citizenship-revocation law and his Culture Minister's direct threat against the NAZA filmmakers represent an extraordinary government response to a documentary screening abroad, while Abraham's direct appeal to American 'taxpayer money' puts U.S. military aid to Israel squarely in front of a domestic U.S. audience.
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