movies
NAZA: Gaza Documentary on IDF Hits $500K at Box Office, Faces Protests
The weekend’s box office saw a strong sophomore frame for NAZA, the self-distributed documentary examining Israel‘s military operations in Gaza.
Filmmakers Yuval Abraham and Rachel Szor, who were both credited as directors on 2024’s Oscar-winning No Other Land, helmed the new film that expanded to 85 North American locations in 30 cities after debuting the week prior at the IFC Center in New York City. NAZA looks to gross $378,250 domestically for the four-day weekend, averaging $4,450 per screen. This pushes it past the $500,000 mark, as its domestic sum is expected to reach $504,074 by Monday.
NAZA premiered at this year’s Venice Film Festival, where it won the special jury prize after receiving a record-setting ovation that surpassed 20 minutes. NAZA is being released independently in the U.S. with the support of The Guardian and MK2, and the movie is set to add more theaters in the weeks to come.
It holds a sterling 100 percent critics approval on Rotten Tomatoes. In his review for The Hollywood Reporter, Jordan Mintzer deemed NAZA a “sober and thoroughly documented bombshell of an exposé.”
As the movie expanded over the weekend, the Israeli-American Council organized a protest on Friday outside of the Laemmle NoHo 7 in North Hollywood, where the documentary was screening. IAC chief operating officer Aya Shechter explained in a statement, “Our message is clear: Wherever lies are told about Israel, we will show up with the truth.” The group also organized protesters during NAZA’s premiere at the New York Film Festival in September.
Earlier this month, the Israeli Defense Force criticized the film as “a distorted, misleading and disingenuous picture of the IDF’s target planning and striking process.”
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Channel 4 has unveiled its first microdrama, a female friendship series starring an actor from Netflix’s You.
The Guest List is being made in partnership with beauty brand Sol de Janeiro and stars Jadesola Odunjo, who played Victoria in You, alongside Deba Hekmat, Mia Ito Smith and Felicity Ali.
Produced by Curly Media, The Guest List follows Amaka, Aisha, Bella and Mika, hard-working women navigating life as young people in London. Across the five vertical shorts, viewers will “see a story of career dilemmas and new crushes,” the logline reads.
The show will drop on Channel 4’s YouTube, TikTok and Facebook channels later this month. Channel 4 had previously said it was exploring the booming microdrama space and older Channel 4 shows have already been repurposed for vertical on nascent platforms like RoseBerry Media’s Epis.
Channel 4’s digital commissioning exec Ameenah Taher said: “We’re always looking to anticipate where audiences and storytelling are heading next. I’m proud to have commissioned Channel 4’s first branded micro drama foray into this space and worked closely with curly media to develop the project – a bold, character-led series exploring the friendship, ambition and lives of a diverse group of intelligent young women. We are excited to have collaborated with Sol de Janeiro to bring this series to life.”
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EXCLUSIVE: Toronto-based genre specialist Raven Banner Entertainment has acquired worldwide rights to Polish director Marta Giec’s feature directorial debut Òpi ahead of its international premiere at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival later this month.
Rooted in the ancient beliefs and dark folklore of Poland’s ethnocultural Kashubia region, the film follow follows eighteen-year-old Trina as she struggles to escape a suffocating relationship with her mother and a household steeped in tension, buried secrets and generational trauma.
When her aunt Helena and paralyzed grandmother Regina arrive, the fragile boundaries between everyday life, ancestral superstition and Trina’s increasingly disturbing nightmares begin to collapse.
Blending psychological drama with raw folk horror steeped in the West Slavic mythology of Kashubia, Òpi explores violence, repression and the horrors inherited from one generation to the next. As long-buried truths claw their way to the surface, Trina must fight to reclaim her voice in a world where the supernatural may be far more than folklore.
The cast features Wiktoria Kruszczyńska as Trina, alongside Gabriela Muskała, Magdalena Boczarska, Iwona Bielska and Pitry.
The film, which world premiered in the 51st Polish Film Festival in Gdynia in September, is already creating buzz in Poland with the local trailer racking up close to 400,000 views in less than three weeks.
“Òpi is the kind of horror that gets under your skin and stays there,” said Michael Paszt, Managing Partner of Raven Banner.
“It taps into something ancient and deeply unsettling, drawing on Polish Kashubian folklore to create a world where family trauma, superstition and genuine terror collide. We’re always hunting for bold genre films with a distinct cultural identity, a filmmaker’s vision and the ability to leave a lasting impression. Òpi delivers on all three fronts and we’re stoked to introduce it to audiences.”
With past sales titles including The Sadness, Deathstalker and Deathgasm 2: Goremageddon, Raven Banner is also at the Brooklyn Horror Film Festival with Sundown, Rebekah McKendry’s IFC/Shudder horror feature starring Olwen Fouéré, Camille Sullivan and Summer H. Howell.
Raven Banner is a producing partner on the supernatural horror, which premiered at the Locarno Film Festival, and also handles sales.
The Brooklyn Horror Film Festival, running October 15–22.
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Myha’la Herrold has claimed that “unconscious racial and cultural bias exists” in The Traitors format, but that she sealed her own fate after exiting the celebrity version on the BBC.
The Industry actress was banished from Season 2 of The Celebrity Traitors last week and has reflected on her experience on the Studio Lambert series in an Instagram post.
In a comment under the post, entrepreneur Chantel Sachanna claimed: “Unfortunately you were banished because you are BLACK. This is a consistent thread in this racist show.”
In response, Myha’la said she would have fully agreed with Sachanna had she not played a significant role in her own downfall, including winking at Richard E. Grant before he was banished as a traitor.
“I sealed my own fate! And that early in the game there is VERY little to grasp on to, and I gave them…a lot,” Myha’la she said.
“However, I do agree that unconscious racial and cultural bias exists in this game where my authenticity or honesty or the ways in which I choose to express myself look suspicious to people who are unfamiliar with people like me.”
She continued: “I had this fear coming into the game, as I am a BIG fan and also clocked right away how prevalent this is in this game. And I came in knowing I’d be the only American (apart from Honorary British National Treasure Jerry Hall).
“I’m not saying it’s right, I’m not saying racism doesn’t exist, but I do have to defend my dear friends on this show who in no way consciously put bias on me because of my race.”
Myha’la added: “That’s not a fair or complete assessment of what really happened in my case. And! I do think games like this should allow more conversation around unconscious bias and how, when under pressure, people (society) gravitate towards things they know and understand or subsequently push away from things they don’t. It’s all love, and I REALLY genuinely appreciate your support.”
The BBC has been approached for comment.
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