BACK

We sat down with the director of The Bibi Files, Alexis Bloom, to discuss the extraordinary access to police interrogation footage, the challenges in getting the film released and the impact she hopes it will have.

The interrogation footage and testimonies [in The Bibi Files] are quite shocking. How did you go about getting access not only to the leaked tapes but also to these high-profile interviewees?

The tapes were originally leaked to Alex Gibney in the spring of 2023. An anonymous source approached him on Signal, saying they had some interesting material, and to his credit, he tugged on the thread. Shortly afterwards, Gibney approached me to take stock of what had been leaked. I spent many weeks with a Hebrew speaking assistant editor trying to figure out how many hours we had, and who exactly featured in these interrogations. Quickly we learned to prioritize – and of course Benjamin, Sara and Yair Netanyahu were a focus. As for the original interviews, there are many in Israel who won’t speak on camera, but fortunately for the film, there are many who will. A large segment of society in Israel feels that Netanyahu is “a captain steering his ship to the bottom of the of the sea,” in the words of one of the interview subjects. The Israelis who lead us through this film are insightful, and courageous, and it’s to their credit the story’s so moving.

 

Did you come up against any barriers in the making and/or releasing of the film?

Too many to mention! We have very good lawyers who helped us navigate the terrain – from the inception right through until distribution. It was a complex endeavor, in a legal sense. I also felt acute pressure to get the content right since the stakes in the Middle East are so high. Streamers in the US and the UK continue to be nervous to touch a subject that many view as “controversial.” Personally I think it’s in the public interest to take stock of stories that literally involve life and death.

As the war in Gaza shows no sign of stopping over a year on, Netanyahu’s bid to cling onto power is a story that continues to unfold. How did the direction of the film change following October 7th, and how did you decide when to end it?

When October 7th happened, I paused on the film. Clearly it was a very uncertain and traumatic time for Israel, and we wanted to proceed with respect. I traveled to Israel in November to see if people even wanted to talk about Netanyahu anymore. I found that they did. Both October 7th and the ensuing war against Gaza ultimately did not change the nature of our understanding of Netanyahu – after all, he made his alliance with the extreme right prior to October 7th – but the stakes around his corruption rose dramatically.

This documentary really serves as a warning to what can happen when corruption and power is left unchecked, which feels particularly relevant in the current global political climate. What is the main thing you hope audiences will take away from the film?

I hope this film helps the international audience to understand there is daylight between Netanyahu and Israel. I hope they see and feel the visceral opposition to him that exists in his country, and that seeing that, they’re able to discuss the situation there with more complexity. I also hope this film serves to make clear that in politics, integrity is not incidental to plot. If a leader is personally corrupt, chances are pretty solid that behavior permeates public life.

The Bibi Files is playing from Fri 13 Dec.