“The Bibi Files” can’t be legally screened in Israel, but Bay Area residents will get a chance to see the controversial documentary later this month.
The Oscar contender, which is based on leaked police interrogation tapes from the yearslong corruption investigation into Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, will be screened for one night in Lafayette on Jan. 22 as part of the East Bay Jewish Film Festival’s Independent Jewish World Cinema Year Round series. (The documentary can also be streamed on Jolt.film through March 16.)
The film, directed by Alexis Bloom and produced by Oscar-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney, can’t be legally shown in Israel because of the leaked footage. In September 2024, Netanyahu sued to stop an international screening of “The Bibi Files,” but an Israeli judge rejected it.
The documentary addresses not only Netanyahu’s ongoing legal issues, which include charges of bribery and fraud, but also the veteran politician’s tight hold on power in his country despite his legal troubles and widespread dissatisfaction with his handling of the Gaza hostage crisis. Netanyahu has denied any wrongdoing in the legal case against him.
The investigation into Netanyahu began in 2016, when he was accused of accepting luxury gifts and doing favors in return. In 2019 he was indicted, but the case has dragged on in fits and starts because of the Covid-19 pandemic, issues with witnesses and the current war. Netanyahu testified in court in December, but the trial was postponed again this week, at his request, following his prostate surgery.
“The Bibi Files” has been shortlisted for an Academy Award nomination for best documentary feature. Gibney, the producer, is best known for his documentary directorial work, which won him an Oscar for 2008’s “Taxi to the Dark Side” about U.S. conduct in Afghanistan and an Oscar nomination for 2005s “Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room.”