Bibi Files, Directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Alex Gibney, is an unfavorable documentary made about Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that will be available for world viewers after the completion of distribution deals.
The film that premiered in Toronto's film festival earlier this year, in an unfinished form, will be completed and an actor will step in to replace one of the interview subjects, who is legally prevented from being shown.
Major distributors and streaming services chose to avoid the film due to its legal and public relations complexities. In the United States, the film will be available on Jolt, an independent streaming service part-owned by the documentary's producer Alex Gibney.
Separate agreements were signed in the European, Oceania and Asian markets including France, the UK, Spain, Poland, the Benelux countries (Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg), Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Turkey, and the Middle East. Despite its international rollout, legal limitations prevent its screening in Israel.
The documentary generated significant interest abroad and particularly in Israel, where Netanyahu's legal team unsuccessfully attempted to halt its Canadian screening. The film unveils, for the first time, recorded materials from investigations involving Netanyahu and his family, which by Israeli law, cannot be publicly shown.
Gibney who has collaborated with major streaming services, including Max is currently involved in a film about Elon Musk for HBO
Distributors, such as the renowned UK-based Dogwoof, France's Dulac, and Spain's Film-In, focusing on boutique cinema releases may bring box office success and potentially lead to integration into local streaming services, further amplifying the film's reach. An campaign to bring the film to the Oscars is underway, accompanied by screenings at U.S. and international film festivals. Since its Toronto debut, the documentary has featured at the Woodstock Film Festival in New York and will continue its circuit through DOC NYC and other award-season events.
"The Bibi Files" has already sparked significant discussion, mainly due to its revealing footage of Netanyahu's interrogations, exposing embarrassing and candid moments involving his wife, Sara, and son, Yair, as they face investigators' relentless questions about various corruption scandals. Contrasting their public persona, often curated through social media, speeches, and interviews, the documentary offers a rare, intimate glimpse into the Netanyahus' personal behaviors and interactions under legal scrutiny.
The film's interviews, featuring figures like journalist Raviv Drucker (also a co-producer), former Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon, Netanyahu's childhood friend Uzi Beller, and former Prime Minister’s residence manager Meni Naftali, might not surprise Israeli viewers familiar with local media reports. However, they have never witnessed the recorded interrogations, and the film, primarily targeting an international audience unfamiliar with Israel's nuanced political landscape, will likely shock Israeli viewers encountering the raw investigative footage for the first time.
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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrives in court during his criminal trial
(Photo: Oren Ben Hakun)
"The Bibi Files" contributes significantly to contemporary discourse, especially on the global stage, linking Netanyahu's legal entanglements with his political maneuvers, alliances with Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben Gvir, and the judicial overhaul he initiated. According to the filmmakers, these actions led to internal societal rifts and the collapse of governance systems that enabled the October 7 massacre.
The film portrays Netanyahu's and his coalition's Gaza strategies as driven not by security or diplomatic concerns, but by the fragile political power dynamics in a crisis environment, facilitating extreme, democracy-threatening measures. From an international perspective, "The Bibi Files" positions Netanyahu among today's authoritarian leaders, from Erdoğan and Orbán to Putin, whom Gibney has previously covered. The film is poised to amplify global scrutiny of the Israeli Prime Minister.
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