\n<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s about getting to know the first family of Israel in a whole new way,\u201d director Alexis Bloom<\/strong> (Catching Fire: The Story of Anita Pallenberg<\/em><\/a>) says of her upcoming documentary The Bibi Files.<\/em> The film features never-before-seen police interrogation tapes of Prime Minister Benjamin \u201cBibi\u201d Netanyahu,<\/strong> his wife, Sara,<\/strong> their son Yair,<\/strong> and many of their close associates, including two high-profile figures: Hollywood producer Arnon Milchan<\/strong> and Miriam Adelson,<\/strong> the widow of casino magnate Sheldon Adelson. The leaked videos offer an inside look at evidence Israeli prosecutors collected during its corruption probe into the country\u2019s longest-serving head of state, an investigation that led to Netanyahu\u2019s 2019 indictment<\/a> on charges of breach of trust, bribery, and fraud. (Netanyahu has denied all charges. The case is ongoing.)<\/p>\n His government\u2019s subsequent efforts<\/a> to reform the judicial system were seen by critics as a way for Netanyahu to legislate away his legal problems by lessening the court\u2019s power and were met with mass public demonstrations. Then, in the fall of 2023, Hamas attacked Israel. \u201cPost\u2013October 7,\u201d Bloom tells VF,<\/em> the war against Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon \u201cbecame another tool to stay in power.\u201d<\/p>\n Three separate cases came out of the investigation into Netanyahu; to understand them, Bloom partnered with Israeli investigative journalist and political analyst Raviv Drucker.<\/strong> (Netayanhu has unsuccessfully sued Drucker three times, and as a result of this film, has asked Israel\u2019s attorney general to investigate<\/a> him.) The film\u2019s greatest coup, though, is the interrogation footage. Bloom is loath to explain how thousands of hours\u2019 worth of leaked videos\u2014mostly in Hebrew, and often with poor picture and audio quality\u2014came into her possession, beyond saying that the windfall was \u201cboth a gift, and an enormous challenge.\u201d (The documentary\u2019s producer, Alex Gibney,<\/strong> has said<\/a> the footage was received unexpectedly.)<\/p>\n The Bibi Files<\/em> opens with Netanyahu sitting down at his desk in his unremarkable Balfour Street office for one of approximately seven police interviews. A parade of people with first-hand knowledge of his and his family\u2019s alleged crimes give their own accounts in police interrogation rooms. We learn about Netanyahu\u2019s penchant for Cohiba Behike cigars (\u201c$1,100 US dollars for a box of 10,\u201d Sheldon Adelson exclaims to the police), and Sara\u2019s passion for pink Champagne. How does the politician afford such extravagances? According to what Drucker says in the film, Netanyahu \u201ckeeps around him, in almost every part of the world, someone like a sugar daddy.\u201d<\/p>\n Milchan\u2019s former personal assistant, Hadas Klein,<\/strong> says in the film that she was responsible for making sure Israel\u2019s first lady never ran out of her favorite pricey beverage. Milchan tells the police that he sometimes personally delivered<\/a> it to the Netanyahu residence in a cooler: \u201cI felt that the prime minster\u2019s wife will torture him if she didn\u2019t have a little to drink,\u201d he quips to investigators. Sara did make her sacrifices: According to Bloom, Milchan persuaded her to trade Mo\u00ebt & Chandon for another type of champagne that was less expensive. \u201cBut she had specific requirements, and would send back Prosecco, and lesser [brands].\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n