After a buzzy Venice Film Festival debut and whirlwind week of controversy, “NAZA” has set a U.S. theatrical run. Tickets for the film are available at Alamo Drafthouse locations in Los Angeles and New York starting in early October through online ticketing platforms Atom and Fandango.
No distributor is publicly attached to the film, which seems to be following the same self-distribution model that directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor used with their last film, “No Other Land,” which went on to win Best Documentary Feature at the 2025 Academy Awards.
“NAZA,” which features interviews with 24 anonymous IDF sources detailing the killing of Palestinian civilians, was a late addition to Venice, a secret film announced to be joining the festival lineup only nine days before festivities commenced in Italy. Israeli directors Abraham and Szor were met with rapturous applause and rave reviews, with a reported 26-minute standing ovation at the premiere. The Guardian co-produced the doc, with “The Zone of Interest” filmmaker Jonathan Glazer attached as an EP.
The news of distribution comes just over one week after the Sept. 10 premiere in Venice. Despite being one of the most discussed movies on the early fall festival circuit, no studio has committed to wading into the political quagmire that comes with distributing this film, sure to generate Oscar buzz later in the season.
It didn’t take long for “NAZA” to draw heat from both sides of the Middle Eastern conflict. Shortly after its Venice premiere, pro-Palestinian voices on social media questioned if Israeli filmmakers could truly make a documentary critical of their own country, calling them out for making a “profit”on the conflict and questioning the decision to keep identities anonymous. Meanwhile, Israeli figures such as Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are calling to revoke Abraham and Szor’s citizenship, while the two face protests and death threats in their home country.
TheWrap reached out to several distributors following “NAZA’s” premiere to ask if they were looking to acquire the rights in the U.S. Most simply responded by saying it’s “on their radar” without making a firm commitment either way.
“NAZA” will release in limited theaters in the U.S. on Oct. 9.
Umberto Gonzalez contributed to this report.
