A provocative new documentary examining the investigation into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu and allegations of corruption is coming to the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF). The festival announced that The Bibi Files will screen as a work in progress selection in the TIFF Docs programme.
Directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Oscar winner Alex Gibney, the film includes never before seen police interrogation footage of Netanyahu, as reported by Variety. The film adds to a robust political line-up in TIFF’s doc slate and a notable get in a competitive year for the festival circuit.
“Over the years, I’ve shown many works by Alex Gibney, including Divide and Conquer about Fox TV mastermind Roger Ailes that Alexis Bloom directed and Gibney produced,” Powers told POV via email. “Earlier this summer, I was at an event with Alex and he pulled me aside to share that he had received this leaked footage and had hopes to finish by the end of the summer. I visited the edit room and was deeply impressed by what I saw. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. We stayed in touch and I watched its current cut roughly a week ago.”
In addition to the never-seen leaked footage, Powers says that the doc provides compelling insight into a controversial figure. “Some of the content has been previously reported in transcript form by Israeli journalists, but it’s much more evocative to bear witness on camera,” Powers says. “Secondly, there are new interviews conducted by director Alexis Bloom, including very close associates of Netanyahu who have deep misgivings about the path he’s gone down in recent years. In some ways, the film reminds me of The Gatekeepers that profiled leaders of Israel’s intelligence agency Shin Bet.” The 2012 film by Dror Moreh scored an Oscar nomination for garnering numerous interviews with figures from Israeli intelligence.
Powers told POV that although The Bibi Files is playing as a work in progress, it is “basically a finished film” with some post-production work to be completed after its debut. Last year’s TIFF selection Mountain Queen: The Summits of Lhakpa Sherpa screened as a work in progress to great acclaim and scored a deal with Netflix.
Powers says the provocative material should make The Bibi Files one of the talking points of the festival when it debuts on Monday, September 9, followed by an encore screening on Tuesday, September 10. “Already the announcement of the film has been making headlines in Israel and I expect there will be more to come. It promises to be a very memorable screening.”
