The documentary "Naza," which focuses on civilian deaths in Gaza, won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice International Film Festival in Italy. The festival’s award ceremony was held during Saturday’s program of the event, which began on September 2 on Venice’s Lido island.
Produced by The Guardian newspaper, the film was directed by Oscar-winning Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor. "Naza," made by Israeli directors, was met with approximately 25 minutes of applause in the theater at the end of its festival screening.
Abraham and Szor took the stage to accept the award and thanked the festival organizers. Abraham said, "We thank the jury. We are truly grateful to be here."
Abraham draws attention to Gaza casualties
Abraham claimed that a smear campaign was being waged against their films in Israel and that efforts were being made to prevent the truth from being seen. The director also said that at least six Palestinian children had died in Gaza during the festival’s first 10 days.
Abraham said Israeli intelligence officers he had spoken with told him that the deaths in Gaza were not accidental but systematic, and that they resulted from policies based on the demonization of Palestinians. He voiced these assessments during the award ceremony.
Abraham said the film was prepared using the work of Palestinian journalists and that more than 200 journalists had died in Gaza. Calling on audiences in Europe and the United States to watch the film, the director argued that the governments of Italy and Germany had prevented pressure from being put on Israel, while the United States financed most of the operations.
The documentary was filmed secretly for three years
The name "Naza" refers to an abbreviation said to denote the number of civilians expected to be killed in an airstrike in Israeli military intelligence. Different interview methods were used in the film to protect the participants’ safety.
The documentary was secretly filmed for three years on the rooftops of buildings in Tel Aviv. The participants’ identities, voices and faces were concealed through digital editing.
The people featured in the film described surveillance systems used in attacks on Gaza and bombings carried out from long distances. According to the participants, artificial intelligence is used to identify targets believed to belong to Hamas; homes and apartments where families are present are also struck.
Some Israeli soldiers who spoke in the documentary said they had witnessed residential areas where civilians had sought shelter being burned in Gaza and people being killed during food distribution. The film also stated that some of those who spoke had previously served in a secret intelligence unit directly subordinate to Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu.
