Israeli officials are seeking to strip filmmakers of citizenship, and now those same filmmakers are bringing their next film to New York without waiting for anyone else to clear it. NAZA, the latest documentary from half of No Other Land’s Oscar-winning team, opens at the IFC Center on September 30 as part of the New York Film Festival. It expands to Los Angeles and other markets on October 9.
The filmmakers are doing something unusual: they are self-distributing. That means they are skipping the middlemen entirely, the same distributors who can’t even release a documentary about Elon Musk without getting some cold feet.
The Films Behind the Citizenship Case
No Other Land was a documentary about settler violence in Gaza. It won an Oscar. Its directors, Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, are now working on NAZA, and they are handling the release themselves.
The move follows a pattern. No Other Land struggled to find distribution in the United States. The filmmakers know that distributors can be squeamish, especially when the subject matter touches on conflict and politics. This time, they are taking control.
Self-Distribution as a Strategy
Abraham and Szor are not waiting for distributors to decide whether NAZA is too risky. They are releasing it themselves, which puts them in full control of where the film plays and how it reaches audiences.
The strategy is simple: avoid the distributor who might not want to touch a documentary about Elon Musk. The comparison is telling. If distributors won’t release a film about Musk, a tech executive, what chance does a film about settler violence in Gaza stand?
The Release Dates
NAZA opens at the IFC Center in New York on September 30 as part of the New York Film Festival. That is the first public screening.
The expansion to Los Angeles and other markets follows on October 9.
| Date | Event |
|---|---|
| September 30 | IFC Center, New York Film Festival |
| October 9 | Expansion to L.A. and other markets |
The Citizenship Case Against the Filmmakers
Israeli officials are seeking to strip the filmmakers of citizenship. The exact basis of the case has not been detailed.
Why Self-Distribution Works Here
Self-distribution is a common strategy in independent filmmaking, but it rarely happens with Oscar winners. Abraham and Szor are stepping outside the usual playbook, and the timing suggests they are doing so to protect themselves.
By controlling the release, they avoid the distributor who might balk at the subject matter. The comparison to Elon Musk is pointed: if distributors won’t touch a film about a tech executive, what chance does a film about settler violence in Gaza stand?
The Politics of Distribution
Distributors can be squeamish about films that deal with conflict and politics, especially when the subject matter is as charged as settler violence in Gaza. The filmmakers are betting that audiences will come anyway.
By controlling the release, they can present the film directly to theaters and festivals without worrying about a distributor’s risk tolerance.
What Comes Next
NAZA opens in New York on September 30. The expansion to Los Angeles and other markets on October 9 will show whether the self-distribution model can work on a national scale.
If it does, the filmmakers will have proven that they can release a film without a distributor’s permission.
The Bottom Line
NAZA arrives in the U.S. later this month, and it is arriving without the kind of hesitation that stopped its predecessor. The filmmakers are betting that audiences will come to see the film, not wait for a distributor to greenlight it.
For now, the film is booked into theaters and festivals, and the audience will decide whether the self-distribution model works.
See the video the story is built around at The A.V. Club.
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