The Venice Film Festival concluded its latest edition by honoring works focused on wars and their consequences, notably films about World War II, nuclear arms and Israel’s war on the Gaza Strip. Major awards went to Unknown Woman, Dao and the Israeli documentary Naza.
Unknown Woman and Dao win the acting and directing awards
He added that a large proportion of the works that reached the festival this year were based on events from the past five or six years, saying the nature of the participating films reflects the reality in which people live.
Naza documents soldiers’ testimonies about abuses in Gaza
The jury awarded its Special Prize to the Israeli documentary Naza, which presents Israeli soldiers’ testimonies about their participation in killings and abuses against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip during the war that has continued for about three years, as documented by the film. The testimonies sparked debate when the film was screened at the festival because they addressed Israeli military practices in Gaza.
Naza was the only documentary competing in the official competition alongside narrative films. It had also been nominated for the Golden Lion and the Special Jury Prize before winning the latter. Appearing on the festival stage, Naza’s director urged audiences in Italy and Germany to pressure their governments to stop funding what he called the “Israeli war machine.”
He said the Italian and German governments were, in his view, obstructing pressure that could help end the war on Gaza. Political and humanitarian issues also featured throughout the edition in works addressing government policies, social inequality, wars and their effects on victims.
Several winners also focused their acceptance speeches on calling for a reawakening of conscience and holding on to hope for a better future.
