Venice Winner 'NAZA' Gaza Doc Opens in U.S. Theaters — SkimNews
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- NAZA documentary began its U.S. theatrical run at IFC Center in New York on Wednesday, following a Special Jury Prize at its Venice world premiere last month (with a record 25-minute standing ovation) and a New York Film Festival screening.
- The film, produced by The Guardian with Jonathan Glazer (The Zone of Interest) as executive producer, holds a 100% Rotten Tomatoes score from 32 reviews, opened in Italy with €1.81 million ($2.1 million), and is set to expand to 60+ theaters in 30+ U.S. markets next weekend.
- Directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor — who previously collaborated on the 2024 Oscar-winning No Other Land about Masafer Yatta demolitions — NAZA features 24 Israeli military intelligence officers interviewed in silhouette with altered voices on Tel Aviv rooftops, claiming the IDF's 'NAZA' (collateral damage acronym) threshold was 'elastic,' reaching as high as 500 people per operation.
- Israel has denied the film's claims, while Netanyahu has threatened to revoke the filmmakers' citizenship and push legislation making it illegal to criticize the armed forces; Abraham and Szor attended Venice and NYFF but skipped U.S. opening Q&As, with reps saying the pair is not currently in the U.S. or Israel.
- Abraham, a Guardian-partnered investigative journalist, said at a NYFF Q&A that the film aims to make Gaza 'denial a little bit harder,' and The Guardian plans to stream the documentary internationally for free in 6-8 weeks as a firewall against suppression.
Why it matters: Netanyahu's threat to strip the filmmakers' citizenship and ban criticism of the armed forces — paired with Israel's denial of the IDF sources' claims — gives The Guardian's plan to stream NAZA for free in 6-8 weeks an explicit accountability function: it is designed to outrun state retaliation. Sold-out NYC screenings and $70K+ opening tracking demonstrate genuine audience demand, not just critical goodwill, for a film built on testimony the Israeli government is actively trying to discredit.
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