Full Breakdown
NAZA Added to the 2026 Venice Film Festival Competition
8/24/2026, 8:29:52 PM
Core Event
The documentary NAZA—directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor—has been inserted into the Competition lineup of the 83rd Venice International Film Festival. The film will have its world premiere in the Sala Grande (Palazzo del Cinema) on September 10 at 5:15 p.m., with the directors, producers, Guardian journalists and the official delegation in attendance. NAZA is the sole documentary among the 21 films competing for the Golden Lion, which will be awarded at the festival’s closing ceremony on September 12.
Background & Context
Abraham and Szor were two of the four co-directors of No Other Land, the 2025 Oscar-winning documentary that chronicled the forced displacement of the Palestinian community of Masafer Yatta in the occupied West Bank. That film’s success at the Berlin International Film Festival and its Academy Award win placed the duo at the forefront of cinema that scrutinises the Israel-Gaza conflict. The Venice Festival has previously highlighted the conflict, notably with the 2025 world premiere of The Voice of Hind Rajab, a docudrama about a five-year-old Palestinian girl killed in Gaza, which earned a standing ovation and the Silver Lion Grand Jury award.
Key Creators
- Yuval Abraham – Israeli filmmaker and investigative journalist; co-director of *No Other Land*.
- Rachel Szor – Israeli filmmaker and cinematographer; co-director of *No Other Land*.
- James Wilson – British producer (JW Films), two-time BAFTA winner; producer of *NAZA* and Oscar-winning *The Zone of Interest*.
- Jonathan Glazer – British filmmaker; executive producer of *NAZA* and Oscar-winning *The Zone of Interest*.
Data & Statistics
- Screening: September 10, 5:15 p.m., Sala Grande, Palazzo del Cinema.
- Festival dates: September 2 – 12, 2026.
- Competition composition: 21 films, with *NAZA* as the only documentary entry.
- Previous accolades: *No Other Land* won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature; *The Zone of Interest* won the 2023 Oscar for Best International Feature.
Official Statements & Responses
- According to the producers, the title NAZA derives from a military acronym used by Israeli intelligence to estimate the number of civilians expected to be killed in an airstrike; the term appears throughout the documentary.
- The Guardian, which co-produced the film, notes that the documentary builds on investigations first published by +972 Magazine, the Hebrew-language outlet Local Call, and the Guardian itself between 2023 and 2025.
- Festival officials have confirmed that the screening will be attended by the directors, producers, Guardian journalists and the official delegation, underscoring the event’s high-profile status within the competition.
Why It Matters
*NAZA* brings a politically charged perspective on the Israel-Gaza conflict to one of cinema’s most prestigious platforms. Its presence signals the Venice Festival’s willingness to feature contentious documentary work alongside narrative cinema, continuing a recent trend of spotlighting Middle-East conflict narratives. The film’s focus on alleged Israeli military calculations may influence public discourse and adds a documentary voice to the broader artistic conversation about the war’s humanitarian impact.
