The Gaza documentary NAZA, produced by the Guardian, received a 25-minute standing ovation at the Venice film festival — and its directors now face death threats in Israel.

The two responses bookend a film that has become a flashpoint even as it collects cinematic honors. The extremes, according to the Guardian's reporting, track the polarized political climate surrounding the Gaza war and a febrile election campaign now underway in Israel.

The Venice moment came in the Sala Grande, the main screening hall of the festival inside the Palazzo del Cinema. The audience had just watched 80 minutes of what the Guardian describes as a harrowing account of Gaza. First came stunned silence. Then, the paper reports, the audience stood almost as one and turned toward the film-makers, applauding for 25 minutes.

That ovation marked the public arrival of NAZA as a festival contender. The documentary has won cinematic acclaim, the Guardian reports, even as its directors confront a very different reception at home. In Israel, the film-makers have faced vitriol — including death threats — amid the charged atmosphere of an ongoing election campaign.

The contrast is stark. In Venice, one of the world's most prestigious film festivals honored the directors with one of the longest ovations of the event. In Israel, the same film-makers require protection from threats, the Guardian reports, as the campaign season amplifies hostility toward those associated with the documentary's account of Gaza.

NAZA runs 80 minutes and is produced by the Guardian, the paper confirms. Its subject is Gaza, and its festival run has now positioned it as both an awards candidate and a political target — a dual status few documentaries occupy simultaneously.

The Guardian's own account of the film's reception, published on 19 September, details the arc from Sala Grande applause to Israeli death threats. The paper reports that the directors' experience reflects the broader difficulty of making and releasing work about Gaza at a moment when audiences, festivals and political factions are sharply divided.

How NAZA's festival momentum translates into wider distribution — and whether the threats against its directors intensify as Israel's election campaign proceeds — will shape the film's life beyond Venice.