Centerpiece Documentary: Holding Liat

Centerpiece Documentary

Holding Liat focuses on one Israeli family’s harrowing emotional journey when their daughter, Liat Atzili, is kidnapped by Hamas on October 7, 2023 from Kibbutz Nir Oz. Liat’s parents, Yehuda and Chaya Beinin, are kibbutzniks (originally from New Jersey) doggedly applying pressure on the Israeli and U.S. governments, as well as the global Jewish community, in order to bring their daughter home. Tensions rise as Yehuda navigates his own family’s conflicting perspectives, along with the tricky advice of political consultants to families of Israeli American hostages. Despite the nightmare he is living through, Yehuda’s criticism of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Israeli government’s handling of the crisis does not hamper his tenacious hopes for peace and a two-state solution. Brandon Kramer’s accomplished documentary pushes us to imagine the hair-raising experience of having one’s child kidnapped—and the calamitous collision of pure love for family with the less pure strategies of governments and politicians. The result is that Liat’s world, and our worldview, are forever changed. Winner of the 2025 Best Documentary Award at the Berlin International Film Festival. —Nancy Fishman

West Coast Premiere

Brandon Kramer is a Washington, DC–based filmmaker and co-founder of Meridian Hill Pictures. His documentaries include The First Step (Tribeca, AFI DOCS), City of Trees (Full Frame, PBS, Netflix), and the Webby Award-winning series The Messy Truth. He won Best Director at the 2016 Chesapeake Film Festival and the Indie Capital Awards, and has received four DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities fellowships. Brandon has directed films for organizations such as the U.S. Institute of Peace, AARP Foundation, and the National Park Service. He holds a degree in film and cultural anthropology from Boston University.