Venice: A documentary examining Israel’s alleged use of artificial intelligence-assisted targeting in Gaza won the Special Jury Prize at the Venice Film Festival on Saturday.
NAZA, directed by Oscar-winning Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, had been considered by some critics a contender for the festival’s top Golden Lion award after receiving a 25-minute ovation at its premiere on Thursday.
Accepting the award, Abraham highlighted the continuing deaths of Palestinian children in Gaza.
“In the 10 days since the festival began, Israel killed six Palestinian children in Gaza at least,” he said.
Abraham said Israeli military and intelligence personnel interviewed for the documentary described civilian killings as the consequence of a systematic approach rather than isolated mistakes.
“The Israeli intelligence officers we spoke with talked to us how this mass killing is systemic: not by accident, but by design, actions of murder and policies that are based on the total dehumanisation of Palestinians,” he told the audience.
The Special Jury Prize is awarded annually for an outstanding work selected by the festival jury and ranks below the Golden Lion and Silver Lion awards.
Abraham and Szor previously won an Academy Award in 2025 for No Other Land, their documentary about Israeli settler violence in the occupied West Bank.
For NAZA, the filmmakers interviewed 24 Israeli military and intelligence whistleblowers whose identities were protected.
The 80-minute documentary explores the use of AI-powered targeting systems during Israel’s military operations in Gaza. Some interviewees described their work as resembling a killing “factory” or a lethal video game.
The film received strong reactions from critics. Screen magazine described it as an “urgent, gut-punch,” while The Hollywood Reporter said it provoked “outrage” and “most certainly disgust, on a profound level, for the current Israeli regime.”
NAZA was the only documentary selected for the Venice Film Festival’s main competition.