Documentary about blockbuster Benjamin Netanyahu doesn’t want you to see
“It’s about getting to know Israel’s first family in a whole new way,” says the director Alexis Bloom (Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg) talks about her upcoming documentary Bibi file. The film contains never-before-seen footage of police interrogating the Prime Minister Benjamin “Bibi” Netanyahu, his wife, Sara, their son Yes, and many of their close associates, including two famous figures: Hollywood producers Arnon Milchan And Miriam Adelson, widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. Leaked videos provide deeper insight into evidence gathered by Israeli prosecutors in a corruption probe into the country’s longest-serving head of state, an investigation that led to Netanyahu’s 2019 election. indictment on charges of breach of trust, bribery and fraud. (Netanyahu has denied all allegations. The case is still ongoing.)
His government then effort Reforming the judicial system is seen by critics as a way for Netanyahu to solve his legal problems by reducing the power of the courts and facing popular opposition. Then, in the fall of 2023, Hamas attacked Israel. “After October 7,” Bloom said VF, the war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon “became another tool to maintain power.”
Three separate cases emerged from the Netanyahu investigation; To understand them, Bloom teamed up with an Israeli investigative journalist and political analyst Raviv Drucker. (Netayanhu unsuccessfully sued Drucker three times, and as a result of this film, he asked the Israeli attorney general survey The film’s biggest coup, however, is the interrogation scene. Bloom is reluctant to explain how thousands of hours worth of leaked videos—mostly in Hebrew and often of poor image and sound quality—came into her hands, other than to say that it was a windfall That “is both a gift and a huge challenge.” (Documentary film producer, Alex Gibney, Have speak The video was received unexpectedly.)
Bibi file opens with Netanyahu sitting down at his desk in his nondescript Balfour Street office for one of about seven police interviews. A parade of people with direct knowledge of his alleged crimes and his family will present their own statements in the police interrogation room. We learn about Netanyahu’s penchant for smoking Cohiba Behike cigars (“$1,100 for a box of 10,” Sheldon Adelson declared to the police) and Sara’s passion for pink champagne. How can politicians afford such extravagance? According to what Drucker says in the film, Netanyahu “always had by his side, in almost every corner of the world, someone like an adoptive father.”
Milchan’s former personal assistant, Hadas Klein, said in the film that it was her responsibility to make sure Israel’s first lady never ran out of her favorite expensive drink. Milchan told police that he sometimes hand delivered it arrived at Netanyahu’s residence in a cooler: “I feel that the prime minister’s wife will torture him if she doesn’t drink some wine,” he joked to investigators. Sara made a sacrifice: According to Bloom, Milchan convinced her to trade Moët & Chandon for another, cheaper champagne. “But she has specific requests and will send back Prosecco and less [brands].”
