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EXCLUSIVE: Benjamin Netanyahu doc The Bibi Files has secured distribution in multiple territories, flying in the face of the controversial Israeli prime minister’s attempts to block the film.
The work, directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Alex Gibney, gives unprecedented insight into the backstory of Netanyahu’s ongoing corruption trial, through never-before-seen footage of police interrogations of the politician as well as his wife sara and son Yair.
In Europe, the doc has sold to Benelux (September Film), France (Dulac Distribution), Poland (Against Gravity), Spain (Filmin) and the UK (Dogwoof).
It has also been acquired for Australia & New Zealand (Madman), Indonesia (PT Falcon), and the Middle East and Turkey (Teleview).
Goodfellas boarded sales on the doc on the eve of the Toronto International Film Festival, where it screened as a work in progress, one day after an attempt by Netanyahu’s lawyers to place an injunction on the film screening in Canada was thrown out by a Jerusalem court.
The deals announcement follows news last week that the doc will be released in U.S. on new direct-to-consumer film distribution platform Jolt. Gibney said they had decided to go this route because major platforms were nervous about the film.
An awards season and release strategy has been crafted around the Jolt deal. A completed version of the doc will world premiere on November 14 at DOC NYC, having also recently made it onto the event’s annual DOC NYC Feature Shortlist, a strong predictor of major awards including the Oscars.
This will be followed immediately by an Oscar qualifying run at the Santa Monica Laemmle Theater in L.A. A New York theatrical run will begin on December 11 at the IFC Center. Under Oscar rules, digital distribution via Jolt can begin any time after the first day of the Laemmle run.
Dogwoof have also submitted the feature-doc for the Baftas.
Intercutting footage of the police interrogations and interviews with prominent Israeli figures, the doc explores suggestions that Netanyahu tried to push through a controversial reform of Israel’s judiciary, weakening the power of the Supreme Court, in 2023 to save his own skin.
The work also examines suggestions that the public outcry and widespread protests against the reforms – which were seen as undermining the rule of law – distracted the country from defence priorities ahead of the October 7 Hamas terror attack. The film also probes Netanyahu’s role, prior to the attack, in allowing millions of dollars to flow to Hamas from Qatar.
Commenting on post October 7 events, interviewees suggest Netanyahu has sustained the war in Gaza, and beyond, as a way to retain power in Israel.
Netanyahu was indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust across three separate cases in January 2020, with the trial beginning four months later and expected to last at least until 2028.
The U.S. release of the film coincides with the resumption of the corruption trial on December 2, for the defence portion, during which the Israeli prime minister is scheduled to take the stand.
In the backdrop, Netanyahu’s lawyers last month petitioned Israel’s Attorney General and Police Commissioner to open a criminal investigation into journalist Raviv Drucker, who is a producer on the film, for his participation in the doc.
Producers are Gibney, under the banner of his New York-based company Jigsaw Productions, with Bloom, Drucker, Kara Elverson and David Rahtz. Editing is by Andy Grieve and Ace Halil Efrat.
Executive producers are Erin Edeiken, Richard Perello, Lyn Davis Lear, Shabnur Gayibova, Maria Logan, T.M. Scruggs, Wafic Saïd, Jim Swartz, Amed Khan, Alexandra Wrage, Jemima Khan Goldsmith and Nick Shumaker.
Bloom is a three-time Primetime Emmy nominee for Divide and Conquer: The Story of Roger Ailes (2018), which Gibney executive produced, and Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2017). More recent credits include Catching Fire: The Story Of Anita Pallenberg, co-directed with Svetlana Zill, which premiered in Cannes in 2023.
