Directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who also co-directed the Oscar-winning No Other Land, the film features testimony from 24 Israeli military and intelligence personnel describing how targets were selected and how civilian casualties were factored into Israeli airstrikes.

The documentary examines the systems behind the killing of Palestinians, including the use of artificial intelligence and surveillance technologies to identify suspected fighters, while showing that Israeli forces approved attacks despite anticipating substantial civilian deaths.

At the Venice Film Festival in September, NAZA received a record-setting standing ovation of about 25 minutes and won the Special Jury Prize, marking a major international recognition of a film confronting the human cost of Israel’s military genocidal campaign in Gaza.

The documentary’s reception has extended beyond film-festival acclaim, with audiences in Italy turning it into a box-office success despite its independent distribution and the absence of a major Hollywood studio release. It earned about €1.1 million in its first two days in Italian cinemas, surpassing the re-release of Avengers: Endgame, while sold-out screenings prompted an expansion of its theatrical run to more than 150 cinemas.

The film’s impact stems from its use of testimony from within the Israeli military establishment rather than relying solely on outside accounts of the devastation in Gaza. The interviewees describe targeting systems, automated surveillance and calculations of anticipated civilian casualties, exposing how bureaucratic terminology such as “collateral damage” can obscure the human consequences of military decisions.

Critics have praised the documentary for confronting the mechanisms behind the mass killing of Palestinian civilians during Israel’s genocide war on Gaza, while its international reception demonstrates that a film without the promotional resources of a major studio can still reach audiences through critical acclaim, public interest and word of mouth. The film is scheduled for release in more than 50 territories, followed by free online availability through The Guardian.

The film’s growing international audience, critical recognition and commercial performance have made NAZA a prominent cultural challenge to official Israeli narratives about the war, bringing testimony about Palestinian civilian deaths to cinema audiences across national borders.