‘The Bibi Files,’ a scathing documentary, incorporates material from corruption probe to present sobering insight into the prime minister’s actions and character

By Robert Sarner

Benjamin Netanyahu during a visit to the southern Israeli city of Ashdod, January 12, 2009. (Jigsaw Pictures)

TORONTO — Already beset by a serious image problem at home and abroad, embattled Prime Minister Binyamin “Bibi” Netanyahu suffered a new blow to his international stature after a full-length documentary about him had its world premiere Monday night at the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF).

“The Bibi Files,” a nearly two-hour film, includes never-before-seen leaked footage of Netanyahu sure to increase the ire of those seeking his political demise, and perhaps give pause to a few of his fervent supporters. If nothing else, it could reshape his image abroad and unveil sides of the longtime leader previously kept under wraps.

In a Q&A after the screening, one of its creators drilled down on his immediate motivations: “People are dying every day, and we wanted to make a statement with this film,” said Oscar-winning producer Alex Gibney.

From start to finish, the film is nothing if not scathing in its depiction of Netanyahu — as a politician and as a person — both by way of his own testimony and the words of others. Little surprise he made a last-minute attempt to block the screening of the film, which the Jerusalem District Court dismissed.

Ironically, the movie’s most contested, incriminating content – namely, excerpts from the police interrogations – is far removed in time from the litany of actions for which Netanyahu is now most vilified, including his prosecution of the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza, his handling of negotiations to free the hostages and dodging personal responsibility for Israel being caught off guard last October 7 when thousands of Hamas terrorists invaded southern Israel, slaughtering 1,200 people and kidnapping 251.

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Outside of the film festival and in the cinema itself, dozens of protesters rallied against Netanyahu’s prosecution of the ongoing war, with signs reading, “Bibi save the hostages, not yourself,” and, “Bibi, let my people go.”

“For a lot of Americans, the war goes on and on and on. And a lot of people are wondering ‘Why does it continue?’” Gibney said in addressing the TIFF audience. “And I think one of the reasons for taking this film on is to explain a lot of the events that we now see through the corruption, the moral corruption, of this one individual.”