The Israeli documentary NAZA won the special jury prize at the 83rd Venice Film Festival on September 13, 2026, after generating a record-breaking 25-minute standing ovation earlier in the week. Directed by Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, the harrowing feature includes testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders detailing the systemic killing of Palestinian civilians during the war in Gaza, according to festival reports.
Venice Jury Prize Award Blocks Golden Lion Contention for Naza
Because NAZA secured the special jury prize early in the awards ceremony on Saturday, festival rules prevented it from winning the festival’s top honor, the Golden Lion, later in the evening. Shot over three years in extreme secrecy on Tel Aviv rooftops at night, the documentary takes its name from the military acronym used for non-combatants killed during targeted strikes against suspected Hamas operatives, as reported by The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald.
The film incorporates shadowy testimonies from soldiers who describe how blanket phone hacking tracks civilian locations and communications. Soldiers recount how linked numbers establish suspect lists that result in strikes on family groups or entire residential streets based on pre-calculated casualty figures. “I still think the Nazis were evil,” one soldier says in the film after recalling pressing a launch button while listening to a baby cry, according to festival reviews. “I still think the Nazis were evil, what does that now make me?”
Following the win, co-director Yuval Abraham addressed the reception of the project. “It’s honestly not very easy to stand here, thinking of all the people, the Israeli politicians, the journalists back home who are attacking this film, denying it without even seeing it,” Abraham said, as reported by Australian mastheads. “It is really, really especially important to us that Israelis watch this film.”
A Woman Unknown Secures Golden Lion at Venice Film Festival
With NAZA sidelined from the top prize by the jury award, Danish director May el-Toukhy’s A Woman Unknown claimed the Golden Lion. Set in post-World War II Denmark, the austere drama stars Mathilde Arcel as a live-in nanny whose secret past relationship with a German soldier threatens her upcoming marriage to her older employer. The jury was led by actor-director Maggie Gyllenhaal.
Did you know? May el-Toukhy was the sole female director of a film in the main Venice competition this year, becoming just the eighth woman to win the festival’s top prize.
El-Toukhy described her film during acceptance remarks. “To me personally, Woman Unknown is about the female body as a battleground,” she said. Lead actor Mathilde Arcel also captured the Volpi Cup for best actress in her first-ever movie role and festival appearance.
Major Winners Across Categories
Other key awards at the 83rd Venice Film Festival recognized international productions across acting and directing categories:
- Best Actor: John Malkovich won for Martin McDonagh’s dark CIA comedy Wild Horse Nine, accepting via a video message from a Montreal film set.
- Silver Lion (Second Grand Prize): Korean director Lee Chang-dong won for Possible Love, an exploration of economic strain focusing on a working-class woman and a wealthy filmmaker.
- Best Screenplay: Stephane Brize won for the French drama A Good Little Soldier, which stars Alba Rohrwacher as a human resources manager dealing with corporate bullying.
- Silver Lion for Directing: Russian-born Ilya Khrzhanovsky won for DAU, a multi-decade project chronicling physicist Lev Landau.
- Best New Young Actor: Malou Khebizi won for Cedric Khan’s juvenile care hostel drama A Place to Heal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why didn’t NAZA win the Golden Lion at Venice?
Because NAZA won the special jury prize early in the awards ceremony, festival rules prohibited the documentary from also winning the top Golden Lion prize later that evening.
Who directed NAZA?
The documentary was co-directed by Israeli filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, two of the filmmakers behind the Oscar-winning project No Other Land.
What is NAZA about?
The film features anonymous testimony from 24 Israeli military insiders detailing target acquisition and the reported systemic killing of Palestinian civilians in Gaza using phone surveillance data.
Who won best actress at the 83rd Venice Film Festival?
Mathilde Arcel won the Volpi Cup for best actress for her lead role in the Danish post-war drama A Woman Unknown.
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