Documentary feature (BERLINALE WORLD PREMIERE)
HOLDING LIAT
ABOUT THE FILM
After Liat Beinin Atzili is kidnapped on October 7th, her Israeli-American family faces their own conflicting perspectives to fight for her release and the future of the places they call home.
CREDITS
Directed by Brandon Kramer
Produced by Lance Kramer
Produced by Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Justin A. Gonçalves, Yoni Brook
Edited by Jeff Gilbert
Co-Producer Hilla Medalia
Original Music by Jordan Dykstra
Produced by Protozoa and Meridian Hill Pictures
in association with Kartemquin Films
See full credits on IMDB
SELECTED REVIEWS
“Emotionally rich, politically thought-provoking… intimate, empathetic… This timely film should find receptive audiences everywhere, and help bring nuance and understanding to a continuing crisis. This profoundly revealing documentary is structured and edited in such a way as to emphasise narrative clarity and the emotional content of its family portraiture.”
Jonathan Romney - Screen International (UK)
“Politically potent and emotionally gripping… a lucid portrait… Brandon Kramer does an impressive job revealing the personal and geopolitical aspects of a heartbreaking true story…Kramer’s movie certainly merits attention."
Jordan Mintzer - The Hollywood Reporter (US)
“Moving… it shows the possibility of remaining human.”
Robert Ide - Die Tagesspiegel (Germany)
“Found it really compelling - cast a very illuminating light on the last year and what it means. Hope to include it in one of my round-ups.”
Jonathan Romney - Screen International (UK)
“A successful cinematic examination of the events of October 7.”
Andreas Fanizadeh - Die Tageszeitung (Germany)
“[I] was pretty impressed, very touching.”
David Steinitz - Süddeutsche Zeitung (Germany)
“The film... writes itself into history.”
Marlene Knobloch - Die Zeit (Germany)
“Kramer's film succeeds where other documentaries made after October 7th have been less successful — it walks the fine line between very complex psychological and political positions… Its human statement is almost incomprehensible in its nobility but also in its simplicity…”
Shani Litman - Haaretz (Israel)
“[A] powerful and moving film… Intimate and unobtrusive style.”
Shmulik Duvdevani - YNet (Israel)
“Holding Liat is a first draft of history, yet one that is open and sensitive to the nuances of Middle Eastern history and politics.”
Nick Holdsworth - Modern Times Review (International)
“Thrilling… condenses the anguish of waiting.”
Rodrigo Fonseca - Correio da Manhã (Brazil)
“A very nuanced work…”
Olivier Thibodeau - Panorama-Cinéma (Canada)
“Holding Liat demonstrates good taste and… shows us that [Kramer] is not here to conduct a sensationalist investigation or reconstruct facts… A film with a very accessible style, which even has its touches of humor.”
Gregory Coutaut - Le Polyester (France)
“A moving, exemplary and horizon-broadening film…”
Anna Lutz - IsraelNetz (Germany)
“A more nuanced view… Brandon Kramer has not only made a film that makes the trauma of the terrorist attack and the hostage-taking tangible; it also offers a complex, extremely thoughtful look at the spiral of violence in the Middle East.”
Felicitas Kleiner - Filmdienst (Germany)
“Well-made… gripping.”
Aleksander Huser - Rushprint (Norway)
“A moving and complex portrait. Sensitive camera work and a keen sense of the emotional dynamics within the family. An important contribution… Holding Liat is a moving testimony to human resilience and a powerful appeal for peace and reconciliation."
Zukunft braucht Erinnerung (Germany)