The newly released trailer for NAZA offers a first look at one of the most closely watched documentaries of the year, bringing the Gaza investigation from Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor to wider audiences. The film, which premiered at the Venice Film Festival, received a 25-minute standing ovation before winning the Special Jury Prize, adding major festival recognition to a documentary built around testimony from Israeli military and intelligence insiders.
Directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, NAZA examines the systems and decisions behind Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, focusing particularly on the use of technology and artificial intelligence in selecting targets. Both filmmakers were part of the directing team behind the Oscar-winning No Other Land, giving the new documentary an important connection to one of the most acclaimed films of recent years.
The film’s reporting was gathered under highly unusual conditions. Over roughly three years, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor secretly recorded interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence insiders. Their identities are concealed, and the conversations were filmed at night on rooftops across Tel Aviv. The approach allowed the participants to speak about their experiences while protecting their identities, creating a striking visual language that is already visible in the trailer.
The trailer itself keeps the focus on the people at the heart of the investigation, using shadowed faces, nighttime images and fragments of testimony to establish a tense atmosphere without revealing every detail. Rather than presenting the story through conventional on-camera interviews, NAZA lets the concealed voices guide viewers through a complicated subject in direct, accessible terms. That choice makes the film’s questions feel immediate and personal.
The title carries its own significance. It comes from a Hebrew military acronym used by Israeli intelligence as a shorthand for the expected number of civilian casualties in an airstrike. The documentary uses that term as a starting point for examining how civilian deaths can become part of a military targeting calculation.
A central part of the film is its look at AI-assisted targeting systems, including Lavender. According to the documentary and its interviewees, these technologies helped process large amounts of information and identify potential targets. Some insiders describe the system as a “factory of targets,” a phrase that captures the film’s wider investigation into how automated tools can influence decisions about who or what is targeted.
NAZA also carries a notable filmmaking pedigree. The Guardian and Jim Wilson of JW Films produced the documentary, while Jonathan Glazer serves as executive producer. The Guardian and Glazer previously formed the Oscar-winning producing team behind The Zone of Interest, adding another major Academy Award connection to the project.
The documentary has also triggered intense political controversy in Israel. Culture Minister Miki Zohar called for Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor to have their citizenship revoked, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he would pursue legislation allowing citizenship to be stripped from people accused of defaming Israeli soldiers and the state. These reactions have placed the filmmakers and their work at the centre of a wider public dispute.
Following its Venice premiere, NAZA is moving into a major international theatrical rollout. The Guardian and distributor MK2 Films have announced releases across 56 territories, with cinemas in more than 50 countries scheduled to show the film. After its theatrical run, the documentary is expected to become available globally for free on The Guardian’s website in late November.
With its new trailer now bringing the film to a wider audience, NAZA stands at the intersection of investigative journalism and cinema. Its festival recognition, secret testimony and examination of emerging military technology give the documentary a distinctive place in the international film conversation, while its upcoming free digital release could allow that conversation to reach audiences far beyond the festival circuit.
