At “NAZA”’s North American premiere at the New York Film Festival, co-director Yuval Abraham said U.S. taxpayer funding and military aid to Israel support its actions in Gaza; he said the film aims in part to make denial of what is happening there harder.
“NAZA” premiered at Venice earlier this month, winning a special jury prize and drawing a 24.5-minute standing ovation. It is set to release in more than 50 territories before becoming available to stream for free on The Guardian’s website.
After the Venice premiere, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu called for a law to revoke citizenship from anyone who “slanders” IDF soldiers, and Israel’s culture minister threatened to revoke a filmmaker’s Israeli citizenship. Outside NYFF, the Israeli-American Council organized a protest of more than 50 people, calling the film “anti-Israel” and saying it ignored information contradicting its allegations about IDF conduct. Abraham called the Oct. 7 massacre unjustified but said it could not justify civilian deaths in Gaza.
