NAZA arrives in the U.S. later this month

“Due to the urgency of the movie’s subject matter, the filmmakers are moving ahead with an innovative distribution model, spearheaded by The Guardian and mk2, who have assembled a team of U.S. and international partners and consultants to bring the film to audiences as quickly as possible,” producers said in a statement. 

NAZA takes its name from an acronym used by the IDF and Israeli intelligence for collateral damage, and in this case, the number of Palestinian civilian casualties it expects in Israeli air strikes. For the film, the directors spoke to 24 Israeli whistleblowers, who explained how Israel uses AI-powered targeting and surveillance systems for its ongoing war in Gaza, killing nearly 60,000 civilians to date. According to The Guardian, the film includes a source who recalls one instance in which approval was given to kill 500 civilians to take out one Hamas member. 

The new documentary has already faced serious criticism in Abraham and Szor’s homeland, where Israel’s culture minister Miki Zohar has accused them of “treason against the state” and called for their citizenship to be revoked. However, audiences who have seen it—which at this point is pretty much just those who attended the Venice Film Festival—seem to love it. The film received a 25-minute standing ovation at the Festival and won the Special Jury Prize.