Venice Film Festival screens documentary featuring testimony from Israeli military insiders

The short version

• The documentary film NAZA premiered in competition at the Venice Film Festival after three years of secret production.[The Guardian · Variety]
• The film compiles accounts from 24 anonymous Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers whose voices and faces were altered.[The Guardian · Variety]
• Interviewees described remote surveillance and the use of AI systems to target individuals at home alongside their families.[The Guardian]
• Directors noted it remains unclear precisely why the participating soldiers decided to provide their testimony.[Variety]

Key facts

• The documentary 'NAZA' screened at the Venice Film Festival as the sole documentary feature in the competition lineup.[The Guardian · Variety]
• The film includes anonymous testimony from 24 Israeli soldiers and intelligence officers with digitally altered appearances and voices.[The Guardian · Variety]
• The title 'NAZA' refers to an Israeli military acronym for expected civilian collateral damage in strikes.[The Guardian · Variety]
• Interviewees detailed the military's use of AI systems to locate low-ranking targets who were subsequently struck at home with their families.[The Guardian]
• The project was developed over three years in total secrecy, co-produced by James Wilson and executive produced by Jonathan Glazer.[The Guardian · Variety]

Sources

Outlet counts describe coverage, not independent confirmation. Reports may share a wire service or original source.

• ‘No Other Land’ Co-Directors on Their New Hot-Button Doc ‘NAZA’ and Interviewing 24 Israeli Soldiers in ‘Total Secrecy’: ‘There Is Still So Much Denial of What Is Happening’ in GazaVariety metered
• Secret systems used by Israel in mass killings of Gaza civilians revealed in new filmThe Guardian - World