The Venice Film Festival has added NAZA, a documentary examining the deaths of Palestinian civilians in Gaza, to the main competition of its 83rd edition. Festival organizers announced the addition on August 24, saying the film by Israeli directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor completes the field competing for the Golden Lion at the event in Venice, Italy, from September 2 to 12.
NAZA is the only documentary among the Golden Lion contenders, according to the Associated Press. The festival says it was filmed at night from rooftops in Tel Aviv and examines systems behind Israeli military operations that killed Palestinian civilians. That description is the filmmakers' and festival's characterization of the work, which audiences and critics have not yet publicly assessed at its Venice premiere.
The film draws on reporting published from 2023 to 2025 by the Israeli-Palestinian outlet +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language publication Local Call and The Guardian, AP reported. The Guardian produced the documentary with James Wilson of JW Films, while filmmaker Jonathan Glazer served as an executive producer. Wilson and Glazer were part of the Oscar-winning team behind The Zone of Interest.
Abraham and Szor previously shared directing duties on No Other Land with Basel Adra and Hamdan Ballal. That Israeli-Palestinian collaboration, filmed between 2019 and 2023, followed activists opposing the demolition of Palestinian communities and won the Academy Award for best documentary feature in 2025. Their new film therefore arrives with substantial awards attention and with subject matter likely to generate political debate alongside critical discussion.
Venice scheduled NAZA for September 10 at 5:15 p.m. in the Sala Grande at the Palazzo del Cinema. The festival said the directors, producers, Guardian journalists and an official delegation are expected to attend. Abraham and Szor are among directors making their first appearance in Venice's main competition, which contains 21 films, according to the organizer.
The war in Gaza also featured prominently at the previous Venice festival, where The Voice of Hind Rajab, about a six-year-old Palestinian girl killed while trying to flee Gaza City, received the Silver Lion. AP reported that thousands also joined a pro-Palestinian demonstration during that edition. This year's jury, led by Maggie Gyllenhaal and including director Kaouther Ben Hania, will announce the competition awards on September 12.
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