Gaza Doc NAZA Opens in U.S. After 25-Min Venice Ovation — SkimNews
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- NAZA began its U.S. theatrical run at IFC Center in New York on Wednesday, with most shows sold out through the weekend and the film targeting more than $70,000 in its first five days before expanding to 60+ theaters in 30+ markets next weekend.
- The documentary won a Special Jury Prize at its Venice world premiere last month with a record 25-minute standing ovation, and currently holds 100% on Rotten Tomatoes off 32 reviews.
- NAZA — an IDF acronym for the acceptable degree of civilian loss — features 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers interviewed on Tel Aviv rooftops at night, filmed in silhouette with digitally altered voices; the film suggests the collateral damage threshold was elastic, ranging from several to as high as 500 people.
- Israel denied the film's claims, and Benjamin Netanyahu threatened to revoke the filmmakers' citizenship and pass legislation making it illegal to criticize the Israeli armed forces.
- The Guardian co-produced NAZA (with Jonathan Glazer of The Zone of Interest as executive producer) and plans to stream the film internationally for free in six to eight weeks, while French sales company mk2 films has closed deals in 56 markets and the doc opened in Italy with €1.81 million ($2.1 million).
- Filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor are not appearing at U.S. opening Q&As and are not currently in either the U.S. or Israel; the pair previously collaborated with Palestinian journalists on the 2024 Oscar-winning documentary No Other Land, which grossed $2.5 million worldwide.
Why it matters: With distribution locked across 56 markets, a $2.1 million Italian opening, and The Guardian set to stream it free globally in 6-8 weeks, NAZA's content is positioned to reach international audiences regardless of Netanyahu's threats to revoke the filmmakers' citizenship — and the filmmakers' prior Oscar success with *No Other Land* ($2.5M worldwide) shows Israeli government pushback did not stop that film's global reach either.
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