Venice Film Festival adds Gaza doc ‘NAZA' to competition lineup
[August 25, 2026]
By LINDSEY BAHR
The Venice Film Festival has added a new documentary about the civilian
toll of the Israel-Hamas war to its lineup. “NAZA,” from two of the
filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning documentary “No Other Land,” will
screen in the main competition, festival organizers said Monday.
According to the synopsis, the film was shot at night on Tel Aviv
rooftops and focuses on the killings of Palestinian civilians. Israeli
filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor co-directed “Naza,” which was
produced by The Guardian and filmmakers behind “The Zone of Interest.”
It’s the only documentary competing for the Golden Lion award.
Abraham and Szor were two of the four directors of the 2025 best
documentary winner “No Other Land,” the story of Palestinian activists
fighting to protect their communities from demolition by the Israeli
military. A collaboration between Israeli and Palestinian filmmakers, it
was made over four years between 2019 and 2023, wrapping production days
before Hamas launched its deadly Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel that
started the war in Gaza.
“Naza” builds on reporting between 2023 and 2025 published by the
Israeli-Palestinian +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call
and The Guardian.
The war was top of mind at last year’s festival as well, where thousands
gathered for a large pro-Palestinian protest during one of the busiest
nights in hopes of redirecting the spotlight from the movie stars to the
real world. The subject was also prominent in the program: Kaouther Ben
Hania’s “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” about the death of a 6-year-old girl
attempting to flee Gaza City with her family in early 2024, won the
festival’s Silver Lion award.
[to top of second column]
|
This image released by the Venice FIlm Festival shows a scene from "NAZA,"
a documentary by The Guardian directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel
Szor. (Venice Film Festival via AP)
 Ben Hania is part of the Maggie
Gyllenhaal-led jury that will be selecting the award winners at the
festival, which begins on Sept. 2. Winners will be announced on
Sept. 12.
Earlier this year, the Venice Biennale contemporary art exhibition
opened with no Golden Lions after the jury quit in protest of
Israel’s and Russia’s participation and loud protests outside their
pavilions. In 2024 the artist and curators representing Israel at
the Venice Biennale kept the Israeli pavilion exhibit closed, saying
they would only open it if there were a ceasefire in Gaza.
All contents © copyright 2026 Associated Press. All rights reserved
 |
