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Gaza documentary NAZA debuts at No. 1 at Italian box office

NAZA, a documentary on the war in Gaza that won a Venice special jury prize, topped the Italian box office on its debut, while an Atlantic critic argues its Nazi analogies distance viewers from the war.

3 outlets · 3L · 0C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: Variety
Image: The Atlantic
Image: The Guardian

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The story, neutrally told

The documentary NAZA debuted at No. 1 at the Italian box office, ahead of the Marvel re-release Avengers: Endgame Encore, according to Variety. It grossed roughly €1.1 million ($1.2 million) on Monday and Tuesday, while Avengers: Endgame Encore, in its second week, took €356,000 ($404,000) over the same period. The Italian release via I Wonder Pictures was planned as a three-day event from Sept. 28-30 but was extended after strong advance sales, and numerous screenings had sold out.

The film was directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the four co-directors of the Oscar-winning No Other Land, and was shot at night on Tel Aviv rooftops. It won a special jury prize at the Venice Film Festival, where Variety says it received a 24.5-minute ovation, and was also well received at the New York Film Festival. The Guardian and JW Films produced it, with Jonathan Glazer as executive producer and MK2 handling international sales. A US rollout starts at New York's IFC Center without a conventional distributor, and Variety reports a free online release via The Guardian's website in late November.

The directors say they made the film because of Israel's responsibility for the mass killing of Palestinian civilians, a characterisation given in their own statement. In The Atlantic, Gal Beckerman calls it a provocative film that should make viewers examine their own moral parameters but argues it instead distances them from the war.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on.

Left3 outlets

Framing
Variety reports the box-office result as a trade story with acclaim and distribution detail; The Atlantic runs a critical opinion piece on the film's Nazi analogies.
Emphasis
Variety: commercial success, festival ovation, distribution plans, directors' statement. The Atlantic: the film's moral and rhetorical effect.
Leaves out or plays down
Variety gives little space to criticism of the film; The Atlantic's available framing does not address box-office performance.
Charged language
“hot-button”“provocative”
For example
“the hot-button documentary about the war in Gaza” — Variety
“NAZA, a provocative Israeli documentary” — The Atlantic

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