Documentary 'NAZA' Receives Record Standing Ovation at Venice Film Festival

The documentary "NAZA," directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, was greeted with a 24.5-minute standing ovation at its Venice Film Festival premiere on Thursday, surpassing the previous record of 22 minutes set last year. The applause made it the longest standing ovation at a major film festival to date and the most extended response of this edition of Venice, which concludes on Saturday.

Oscar-winning filmmaker Jonathan Glazer, an executive producer on the project, was present and expressed support for the directors during the applause. Audience members, some holding Palestinian flags, remained seated throughout the ceremony.

According to the film’s official synopsis, "NAZA" examines the mechanisms behind civilian casualties in Gaza, using the term "NAZA" as an acronym employed by Israeli intelligence to estimate expected civilian deaths in airstrikes. The documentary, filmed covertly at night on Tel Aviv rooftops, includes interviews with 24 Israeli military intelligence officers and soldiers.

The film was added to the competition lineup a month after the initial announcement, as the directors completed the project after three years of work. Abraham and Szor previously co-directed "No Other Land," which won the 2025 Oscar for Best Documentary and explores Israeli policies in the West Bank.

In a pre-premiere interview, Abraham said the filmmakers aimed to use their access to Israeli military personnel to investigate claims by human-rights organizations regarding the conflict. "NAZA" is the sole documentary feature in this year’s Venice competition and is produced by The Guardian, James Wilson of JW Films, and executive produced by Glazer, the team behind the Oscar-winning "The Zone of Interest."