The Bibi Files

CinematographyAvner ShahafEdited byMusic byWill BatesDistributed byGoodfellas113 minutesCountryUnited StatesLanguages

The Bibi Files is a 2024 American documentary film directed by Alexis Bloom. The film features leaked interrogation footage from the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu. It was screened at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on September 9, 2024 as a work-in-progress film.

As a result of the trial of Benjamin Netanyahu, Israeli police recorded thousands of hours of interrogation footage from 2016 to 2018.^[1] This footage was leaked to filmmaker Alex Gibney in 2023. In addition to Netanyahu, the film features footage of his wife Sara, son Yair, friends, and associates, as well as household workers at Beit Aghion.^[2][3] It also includes interviews with insiders, including journalist Raviv Drucker and former Shin Bet head Ami Ayalon, who were willing to speak on the record about Netanyahu.^[4]

While the interrogation audio had been previously published, the footage had not been.^[4] Gibney stated, "These recordings shed light on Netanyahu's character in a way that is unprecedented and extraordinary. They are powerful evidence of his venal and corrupt character and how that led us to where we are at right now."^[2] Gibney and director Alexis Bloom had been working on the film prior to the October 7 attacks in 2023.^[1][4]

Bloom noted that she interviewed many individuals, including former chiefs of staff, heads of Shin Bet, and other senior officials, who were willing to speak with her about Netanyahu, but only off the record. One compared Netanyahu's premiership to the Netflix series House of Cards.^[4] Bloom stated, "Honestly, these stories about Netanyahu are fairly well known in Israel. So many Israelis along the way have said to me, 'You need to get this out to the wider world'."^[5]

On September 2, 2024, the film was added to the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival lineup as a work-in progress film, three weeks after the full festival schedule had been released.^[2][6] Goodfellas acquired the distribution rights on September 6.^[7]

On September 8, lawyers representing Netanyahu petitioned the Jerusalem District Court for an injunction against journalist Raviv Drucker, one of the film's producers, for publishing footage from a police interrogation without the court's permission.^[1][8] Judge Oded Shaham denied the request on September 9, and the film was screened later that day.^[9][10] It was also screened on September 10.^[11]

Regarding the film's distribution, Gibney stated, "There's a legal restriction at the moment in Israel, by agreement with the source. Everywhere else in the world, there's no restriction. So, we plan to distribute it as widely as possible and still stay within the bounds of our promise, or my promise, to the source."^[5]

Leela Jacinto of France 24 called the film "an almost Shakespearean tale of the corruption of one man and how it can infect the body politic of a nation at war, once again, against a people with no country".^[5] Mittal Balmes Cohen of the Hebrew University of Jerusalem stated, "We won't see a substantial change in public opinion in Israel, but in the international arena it has great significance."^[12]

• The Bibi Files at IMDb