Gaza AI film stuns Venice with record 25-minute ovation

Rachel Szor and Yuval Abraham took nearly three years to make their film "NAZA".© Stefano Rellandini, AFP

An Israeli-made documentary examining alleged AI-assisted targeting and the mass killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza has received a reported 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice Film Festival.

Whistleblowers expose an alleged ‘killing factory’

“NAZA”, made by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, is based on interviews with 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers. Their identities are protected, with voices and faces digitally altered.

The interviewees describe an AI-assisted targeting system known as Lavender, which they say was used to identify people for assassination. Some compare the process to a factory or video game, while others describe widespread destruction of civilian homes and an atmosphere of hatred towards Palestinians.

A chilling system at the heart of the film

The documentary takes its name from “NAZA”, an alleged intelligence euphemism for the number of civilians expected to be killed in an air strike. Abraham told Reuters that targeting could involve hundreds of people and result in entire neighbourhoods or villages being destroyed.

The film also examines claims that mass surveillance data, including information from mobile phones, was used to identify targets. One interviewee alleged that signals associated with family members being at home could contribute to an attack.

Venice audience delivers extraordinary response

The 80-minute film reportedly drew continuous applause for 25 minutes after its premiere, surpassing the 23-minute ovation received by another Gaza-related film at last year’s festival.

The response came despite the inherent limitations of festival ovations as a measure of critical opinion. “NAZA” is the only documentary competing at this year’s Venice festival, which concludes on Saturday.

Filmmakers demand pressure on Israel

Abraham and Szor, who won an Oscar in 2025 for “No Other Land”, said they hoped the film would push Western governments to reconsider their support for Israel and apply greater pressure through sanctions.

Israel denies deliberately targeting civilians and says Hamas operates among Gaza’s densely populated civilian population. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry, while Israel says its military operations followed the October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israeli-made film about use of AI for mass killing in Gaza gets record ovation at Venice premiere