Neon has joined the release of “NAZA,” a documentary composed of anonymous interviews with 24 members of the Israeli military that details the country’s airstrikes on Gaza and the killing of Palestinian civilians.
The partnership marks a major sea change within the distribution market. Filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor‘s last documentary “No Other Land” (co-directed with Hamdan Ballal and Basel Adra), about Israeli settler violence in Palestine’s occupied West Bank, went without a U.S. distribution partner in 2024 — a development that, at the time, Abraham said he “read it as something that’s completely political.” Many in the industry have speculated that traditional distributors had concluded that documentaries about Israel and Palestine were too controversial to do business with in the U.S. Despite being released independently, “No Other Land” ended up grossing $3.6 million in theaters worldwide and won the Oscar for best documentary feature.
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For the “NAZA” release partnership, Neon will “work with the filmmakers to expand its footprint and to reach larger audiences and communities.” More exact details on how the distributor will support the film are yet to be disclosed.
After premiering at Venice Film Festival, where it was embraced by critics and won the special jury prize, “NAZA” immediately set an independent theatrical release in the U.S. and abroad. After opening in the U.S. on September 30, the film passed a $500,000 gross less than two weeks into its plan to play 85 theaters across 30 cities. The newspaper The Guardian, which produced “NAZA,” is planning to make the feature available to stream its website for free in November.
“Yuval and Rachel have created one of the best films of the year; it’s an extraordinary work of art and eyewitness testimony that stands alongside landmark documentaries like Laura Poitras’ ‘Citizenfour’ and Joshua Oppenheimer’s ‘The Act of Killing,'” reads a statement from Neon. “At the heart of Neon’s mission is a commitment to championing the best cinema from around the world. We’re proud to join the incredible team already working on the film and help bring it to the widest audience possible.”
Prior to the Neon deal, “NAZA” had already secured distribution plans across 50 countries. The film is produced by The Guardian with James Wilson’s JW Films banner, in association with Placeholder Films and Unseen Hand. “The Zone of Interest” director Jonathan Glazer is an executive producer. MK2 Films negotiated the deal with Neon.