TORONTO — Already beset by a serious image problem at home and abroad, embattled Prime Minister Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu suffered a new blow to his international stature after a full-length documentary about him had its world premiere Monday night at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).
“The Bibi Files,” a nearly two-hour film, includes never-before-seen leaked footage of Netanyahu sure to increase the ire of those seeking his political demise, and perhaps give pause to a few of his fervent supporters. If nothing else, it could reshape his image abroad and unveil sides of the longtime leader previously kept under wraps.
In a Q&A after the screening, one of its creators drilled down on his immediate motivations: “People are dying every day, and we wanted to make a statement with this film,” said Oscar-winning producer Alex Gibney.
From start to finish, the film is nothing if not scathing in its depiction of Netanyahu — as a politician and as a person — both by way of his own testimony and the words of others. Little surprise he made a last-minute attempt to block the screening of the film, which the Jerusalem District Court dismissed.
Ironically, the movie’s most contested, incriminating content – namely, excerpts from the police interrogations – is far removed in time from the litany of actions for which Netanyahu is now most vilified, including his prosecution of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, his handling of negotiations to free the hostages and dodging personal responsibility for Israel being caught off guard last October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, slaughtering 1,200 people and kidnapping 251.
Outside of the film festival and in the cinema itself, dozens of protesters rallied against Netanyahu’s prosecution of the ongoing war, with signs reading, “Bibi save the hostages, not yourself,” and, “Bibi, let my people go.”
“For a lot of Americans, the war goes on and on and on. And a lot of people are wondering ‘Why does it continue?’” Gibney said in addressing the TIFF audience. “And I think one of the reasons for taking this film on is to explain a lot of the events that we now see through the corruption, the moral corruption, of this one individual.”
The central focus of “The Bibi Files” is Netanyahu’s protracted legal quagmire involving three corruption cases that have dogged him, in and out of the courts, for much of the past decade. In 2019, following years of police investigation of suspected criminal malfeasance, Netanyahu was charged with bribery, fraud and breach of trust, all of which he has vehemently denied.
Unlike other Israeli politicians previously indicted for corruption, Netanyahu has defiantly refused to resign, insisting he’s the victim of a political and media witch hunt. To this day, the wheels of justice continue to turn slowly as all three cases remain unresolved in the court system after delays due to legal wrangling by Netanyahu’s lawyers, pandemic restrictions and the Gaza War.
Footage that Israelis may never view
Directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Gibney, “The Bibi Files” veers back and forth between two main sources. The first, dating from 2016 to 2018 and derived from thousands of hours of footage, consists of police interrogations of Netanyahu, his wife Sara, their son Yair, various friends and associates, and benefactors such as Hollywood mogul Amnon Milchan, telecommunications tycoon Shaul Elovitch, and (the late) businessman Sheldon Adelson and his wife Miriam.
Amid grievous allegations against Netanyahu, the police made the recordings, seeking evidence to determine whether to indict him on corruption charges. Until now, the videos, which were leaked to Gibney last year, hadn’t been seen publicly, including in Israel due to its privacy laws, which may preclude “The Bibi Files” ever being shown there.
The second main source material comprises recent interviews with prominent Israeli figures, including former prime minister Ehud Olmert, former Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon and former Netanyahu adviser Nir Hefetz, and others much less known to the public but who once were connected to Netanyahu, such as his one-time close friend Uzi Beller and the former caretaker of his official residence, Meni Naftali.
Today, all are ill-disposed to Netanyahu, to put it mildly, describing him as a compulsive liar and immoral manipulator. Their words, especially for foreign audiences less familiar with Netanyahu, provide compelling insight into a controversial leader. Together, the interviews make for a searing portrait of the man who has led Israel longer than any previous prime minister and remains revered by many of his compatriots.
Veteran investigative reporter Raviv Drucker, who’s listed in the film’s credits as one of its producers, appears more frequently than the other interviewees. His informative commentary helps drive the narrative of the film, spotlighting chronologically key moments in Netanyahu’s rise to power and describing his modus operandi in his lifestyle and political ways as corrupt.
Source: The Times of Israel