Documentary about killing of civilians in Gaza to premiere at Venice Film Festival
ROME — A documentary examining Israel’s killing of civilians in Gaza was added to the Venice Film Festival line-up on Monday, the second year running that a highly charged work about the conflict has competed for the prestigious Golden Lion.
Festival organizers said “NAZA,” directed by the Israeli duo Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, will join the main program for the September 2 to 12 event — the only documentary among this year’s 21 contenders.
Last year, “The Voice of Hind Rajab,” which tells the harrowing story of the final hours of a Gazan girl trapped in a car under Israeli fire, won second prize at Venice after earning a record 23-minute standing ovation at its premiere.
According to a synopsis released by the festival, “NAZA” was shot at night on the rooftops of Tel Aviv and “reveals in detail the systems behind Israel’s calculated mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza.”
It is based on reporting that appeared in the Israeli left-wing activist outlets 972 Magazine and Local Call, and the UK’s Guardian, at least some of which has been challenged by the Israel Defense Forces.
“Naza” is a reference to a Hebrew acronym for collateral damage, used by the military.
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