Israel Film Council to review festival scoring criteria after "Naza" documentary controversy

The Israeli Film Council said it will hold an urgent meeting to re-examine the scoring criteria applied to film festivals that represent Israel internationally, following controversy over the documentary "Naza." The council said Israel "fiercely safeguards freedom of expression and artistic creation" and encourages diverse and critical voices, but said, "Naza crosses a red line, constituting a grave act of defamation against IDF soldiers."

The council questioned the film's credibility given its reliance on anonymous interviewees, saying it "deplores the practice whereby filmmakers exploit Israel's artistic freedom yet choose to malign the State and its soldiers in exchange for awards and funding from hostile international entities." The Council said it would continue supporting "high-quality, constructive, and diverse Israeli cinema" while condemning any use of filmmaking "to harm the State and IDF soldiers."

The statement followed Culture and Sport Minister Miki Zohar's call on Sunday for the citizenship of "Naza" directors Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor to be revoked, after the film won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice International Film Festival. Zohar called the film "vile" and accused its creators of treason. Zohar also tied the controversy to his proposed overhaul of public funding for Israeli cinema, arguing taxpayers should not fund works he considers attacks on the IDF or the state.

The culture minister does not have unilateral authority to revoke citizenship, a process that under Israeli law requires the interior minister and the courts.

Opposition Leader, and main challenger to the current government, Gadi Eisenkot also condemned the film on X, writing that "for nearly three years, IDF soldiers and commanders have been waging a just yet unimaginably grueling war against a cruel enemy that massacred, raped, and abducted children, women, and men on the morning of October 7th." He said the filmmakers' decision "to stand on an international stage, present a distorted and one-sided picture, and cast moral aspersions on the soldiers defending our home represents moral blindness, a detachment from reality, and an affront to the State of Israel during a difficult time."

Eisenkot added that while "criticism is legitimate in a democratic society... there is a vast chasm between it and the act of besmirching our soldiers' names simply to garner applause at festivals abroad."

The documentary is based on three years of interviews with 24 people presented as Israeli soldiers and intelligence personnel, whose identities are concealed. They described Israel's surveillance and target-selection systems in Gaza, alleging that strikes were authorized despite expected civilian casualties.

Abraham and Szor previously co-directed "No Other Land," which won the 2025 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.