Direction: Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor
Country: UK
Naza, a British documentary directed by Israeli investigative journalists Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who previously directed No Other Land (2024), is packed with shocking revelations in an open denunciation of political hypocrisy and repeated lying that have become normalized in our times. A smart and convenient staging, with rooftops in Tel Aviv at night, was set up for interviews with Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers who admit to war crimes and genocide when addressing the Gaza war.
Naza means “collateral damage,” referring to the number of innocent victims, including women and children, of targeted bomb attacks aimed at Hamas officials and their collaborators. The huge role of A.I. in military targeting systems is exposed, with some interviewees grappling with shame and regret, while others seem still stuck in fanaticism and a system of brainwashing. One of them compares remotely killing people to playing a video game, describing the act as fun and thrilling.
The past few years have brought a number of war documentaries, but Naza, despite its filmmaking simplicity and even-handed approach, is the priceless one that adds something new. It won the Special Jury Prize, among other accolades, at the Venice Film Festival, and its filmmakers have faced severe political backlash and safety threats.
Quisque iaculis facilisis lacinia. Mauris euismod pellentesque tellus sit amet mollis.