Summary
- NAZA received an approximately 25-minute standing ovation at its Venice premiere.
- It won the Special Jury Prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival.
- It is directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four co-directors of No Other Land.
- The documentary runs for 80 minutes and draws on testimony from 24 Israeli soldiers and military intelligence personnel about Gaza.
NAZA, directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, received an approximately 25-minute standing ovation at its Venice premiere and won the Special Jury Prize.
The documentary about Gaza had its official premiere on September 10, 2026, at the Sala Grande. Two days later, at the 83rd Venice Film Festival’s awards ceremony, the film was among the winners in the main Venezia 83 Competition.
The significance of this development lies in the combination of two different forms of recognition: the audience’s strong response and the jury’s official award. PTTL had already covered NAZA’s selection for the Venice competition before its premiere; the news now concerns its reception and award.
Almost 25 minutes of applause at the premiere
Euronews reported a duration of 24.5 minutes, while Reuters described a 25-minute standing ovation after the screening. The wording “approximately 25 minutes” therefore reflects the journalistic accounts without presenting the duration as an absolutely precise measurement. Euronews described the reception as the longest ovation recorded in the festival’s history.
According to The National, Abraham and Szor appeared emotional during the applause, while audience members raised Palestinian flags. Jonathan Glazer, director of The Zone of Interest and an executive producer on NAZA, also attended the premiere and embraced the two filmmakers after the screening.
The Special Jury Prize
The Venezia 83 jury, chaired by Maggie Gyllenhaal, awarded NAZA the Special Jury Prize. The distinction is recorded in the Biennale’s official announcement and belongs to the main competition, rather than a parallel section of the festival.
Comments by jury member Kaouther Ben Hania at the post-awards press conference were particularly interesting. The filmmaker highlighted how the directors addressed the constraints of filming anonymous testimonies while preserving the work’s cinematic power. She also emphasised the importance of documenting events that are still unfolding and praised their courage and vision.
Her remarks also directed attention to the documentary’s form: how testimonies acquire a cinematic presence without revealing the identities of the people speaking.
The investigation behind the film
NAZA runs for 80 minutes and brings together testimony from 24 Israeli soldiers and military intelligence personnel. Through these accounts, it examines Israeli operations in Gaza, target-selection procedures and anticipated civilian casualties. The interviews were conducted secretly, at night on Tel Aviv rooftops, with measures taken to protect the participants’ identities.
As the filmmakers explain in the Biennale’s official presentation, the film is connected to journalistic investigations published by The Guardian, +972 Magazine and Local Call. The cinematic approach, they note, allowed them to explore not only what is said in the testimonies, but also their silences.
Abraham and Szor are two of the four co-directors of No Other Land, which won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature in 2025. NAZA is produced by The Guardian and James Wilson’s JW Films, with Jonathan Glazer serving as an executive producer.
What we think
The significance of this reception cannot be reduced to the stopwatch timing the applause. An audience’s reaction and a jury’s decision are different things; in NAZA’s case, however, the strong response at the premiere was accompanied by an official festival award.
For PTTL, what deserves to endure beyond the impressive number of minutes is investigative documentary’s ability to bring a journalistic investigation to the big screen and create space for public discussion. The applause is the immediate reaction. The essential question is which conversation continues once the auditorium is empty.
Frequently asked questions
How long was NAZA’s standing ovation?
Approximately 25 minutes. Euronews reported 24.5 minutes, while Reuters recorded a duration of 25 minutes.
Which award did it win in Venice?
The Venezia 83 Special Jury Prize, on September 12, 2026. This is a different distinction from the Golden Lion and the Silver Lion – Grand Jury Prize.
What does the documentary examine?
It examines Israeli military operations in Gaza and target-selection procedures through testimony from 24 Israeli soldiers and military intelligence personnel whose identities are protected.
