The documentary NAZA, created by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, took first place at the Italian box office, surpassing the re-release of 'Avengers: Endgame'. This documentary, which focuses on Israeli testimonies regarding the killing of Palestinians in Gaza, received a special jury award at the Venice Film Festival and earned approximately 1.1 million euros ($1.2 million) on Monday and Tuesday.
In comparison to this success, the re-screening of 'Avengers: Endgame Encore', an extended version of the 2019 Marvel film, managed to collect only 356,000 euros ($404,000) during the same period in Italy.
The film NAZA, directed by Oscar winners Szor and Abraham, analyzes artificial intelligence-driven systems used in the Israel-Gaza war, while also raising questions about whether high civilian casualty rates among Palestinians were taken into account when making decisions on military targeting.
The documentary features interviews with 24 insiders from Israeli military and intelligence services, whose identities remain anonymous. At its world premiere, NAZA received a record 24.5-minute standing ovation, the longest ovation in Venice, according to Variety.
This reaction surpassed the 22-minute ovation given last year to Kaoter Ben Hania's 'Voice of Hind Rajab', which tells the story of a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed by Israeli forces in Gaza in January 2024.
After NAZA won the Special Jury Award on Saturday, Israeli politicians, journalists, and the public began criticizing Szor and Abraham, accusing them of treason and demanding the revocation of their citizenship.
Culture Minister Mickey Zucker called the film 'vile' and stated that he would 'immediately take action to revoke the Israeli citizenship of these vile creators based on treason against the state.' Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu supported Zucker's criticism of the filmmakers, announcing his intention to introduce two bills aimed at those who 'defame' the Israeli army.
Netanyahu specified that the first bill would 'revoke the citizenship of anyone who defames soldiers,' and the second would increase 'the amount of damages they can be sued for defamation twentyfold.' He stated that those who 'defame' the Israeli army 'have no place among us.'
According to Israeli media, the Chief of Staff of the Israeli armed forces, Eyal Zamir, has ordered legal proceedings against Szor and Abraham with the assistance of Shin Bet.
NAZA will be released in wide release across the United States after October 9th, as well as in 55 other countries, including the UK, Canada, Australia, France, and the Middle East.