Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor stood before a Venice audience on Thursday that would not stop clapping, sustaining a 25-minute ovation for their documentary on Israel’s use of artificial intelligence in Gaza. The two Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers watched the response unfold long after the screening ended.
The film, titled NAZA, examines Israel’s deployment of AI-powered systems in the targeting of civilians during the war in Gaza. Abraham and Szor built the work around conversations with 24 different Israeli sources, assembling firsthand accounts of how those systems were used.
The prolonged applause is believed to set a new record at the festival. The previous benchmark came last year, when another film centred on Gaza drew a 23-minute ovation from a Venice audience.
Abraham and Szor are no strangers to international recognition. Their earlier work established both as prominent Israeli voices scrutinising the conduct of the war, and their return to Venice placed the subject once more before one of cinema’s most closely watched stages.
Gaza has become a recurring presence at major film festivals over the past two years. Earlier in 2025, a Palestinian production drew attention at Cannes, part of a broader pattern of filmmakers bringing the territory’s story to European screens.
The choice of two Israeli directors to interrogate their own country’s military technology gave the premiere added weight. The documentary’s focus on automated targeting systems places it among a growing body of films examining the machinery of modern conflict.
Venice programmers have repeatedly given prominent slots to films addressing displacement and war, from migrant journeys across the Mediterranean to border crises in Europe. NAZA continues that tradition while turning the lens on a subject rarely presented from an Israeli vantage point.
The festival continues its screenings before the awards ceremony, where jury decisions will determine which titles leave with the Golden Lion and other prizes. NAZA now enters that conversation as one of the most discussed premieres of the edition.