- ‘It’s sort of almost like a monkey on his back, and people forget that he’s motivated to stay out of jail, and everything he does comes back to that,’ Alexis Bloom tells Anadolu
- Bloom says film struggled to secure mainstream US distribution despite Academy Award shortlist, international screenings
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s every political move is shaped by his ongoing corruption trial and his desire to avoid jail, according to Alexis Bloom, director of the documentary The Bibi Files.
“The main message of the documentary is that this man who is leading Israel to the bottom of the sea has a very serious legal case,” Bloom told Anadolu ahead of a screening of the film at the European Parliament in Brussels.
“It’s sort of almost like a monkey on his back, and people forget that he’s motivated to stay out of jail, and everything he does comes back to that,” she said.
Netanyahu was indicted in 2019 on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust in three separate cases. He has denied wrongdoing and pleaded not guilty. His trial, which began in 2020, remains ongoing.
Bloom said she wants audiences to look beyond the rapidly changing daily news cycle and consider Netanyahu’s legal troubles as part of the broader context surrounding his political decisions.
“I would just say, in the daily reporting of deaths and riots and settlements and all the very intense news that happens day to day, take a breath and step back and remember the big picture,” she said.
The Bibi Files is built around leaked footage of police interrogations of Netanyahu, his wife Sara, his son Yair and people in their political and personal circles.
Producer Alex Gibney received more than 1,000 hours of leaked interrogation material before approaching Bloom to direct the documentary, which also involved interviews with insiders willing to speak about Netanyahu.
For Bloom, the film, which premiered in 2024, is an example of how cinema can turn complex political and legal issues into a story that audiences can experience on a more immediate and personal level.
Difficult journey to audiences
The film itself has faced obstacles reaching audiences.
The day before its screening at the Toronto International Film Festival, lawyers representing Netanyahu sought an injunction from an Israeli court to prevent publication of the interrogation footage.
The court rejected the request and the screening went ahead.
The film has also faced restrictions in Israel because of privacy laws, while it has been distributed and screened internationally.
However, Bloom said the difficulties continued beyond Israel, particularly in the United States.
"It was very difficult to release this film in America, and some newspapers didn't even want to review it," she explained.
"We did not get mainstream distribution, even though we were shortlisted for an Academy Award, and it broadcast all over Europe. An American mainstream streamer didn't want to take us on, so it was difficult to get it out there," the director added.
The film has received strong critical attention internationally. Rotten Tomatoes currently lists it with a 95% critics’ score.
‘People are moved by art’
For Bloom, the documentary also illustrates the ability of art to engage audiences with political and social questions in ways conventional political discourse often cannot.
“I think that people are moved by art, and it’s very important for art to engage them,” Bloom said.
“I think art is political. That’s my instinct.”
Political issues, she said, are frequently presented through legal documents, official statements, speeches and daily news reports, but cinema can create a different form of engagement.
The ability of art to move audiences is not separate from its political significance, she added.
"If we want to make political changes, we have to engage people not just with dry old literature, or slogans or kind of bureaucratic means. It has to be through art. It has to be through music. It has to be through everything," she said.
'You cannot stop thousands of cinemas'
Despite distribution hurdles, the film is finding another route to audiences through cinemas.
The documentary is preparing for a major theatrical release in Italy, with screenings planned in around 130 cinemas, accompanied by a live event.
"People want to see what's happening in Israel and want to know what are the corruption allegations against Netanyahu," Italian distributor and journalist Giulia Innocenzi told Anadolu.
She said some screenings had already sold out and expressed hope that the response would encourage more cinemas to show the documentary.
"But not all of them want to screen this movie because, of course, Netanyahu is very powerful, and it's a political issue," Innocenzi said.
She also recalled attempts to block the film’s screening.
"Bibi Files was not screened in Israel because of violation of privacy policy, but also Netanyahu tried to block this movie before the Toronto Film Festival," Innocenzi noted.
She argued that cinema can offer political expression more room than traditional media because attempts to restrict one outlet do not necessarily prevent audiences from accessing a film elsewhere.
“You can try to stop one media stream. You can try to stop a TV channel, but you cannot stop thousands of cinemas,” she said.
