Holding Liat

A film that is shot truly open-endedly, in the thick of it, even though – at the outset – it was impossible to predict what would happen. Liat is forcibly abducted from her kibbutz by members of Hamas on 7 October 2023 and shortly afterwards Brandon Kramer starts filming with her family. He’s right there with them, up close, as the parents Yehuda and Tal try to deal with their fear – or to sway the fate of their adult daughter and her husband in dialogue with the authorities. As a US citizen, Yehuda flies to the USA, accompanied by Liat’s son, who is burdened by more than the public attention, and Liat’s sister, who will try to cushion Yehuda’s temper and anger. Because even within this family views are polarised: despite his pain, the father takes a critical view of Israel’s role in the Middle East conflict. He is a pacifist and will not be dissuaded from the path of reconciliation, even at the geopolitical epicentre of diplomacy and trauma. He persistently swims against the tide, takes issue with himself and everyone else and berates the Israeli government. A candid film of the hour. Insights don’t come from politics, but from Liat’s family. (Christiane Büchner, Barbara Wurm)

Brandon Kramer is a Washington, DC-based filmmaker and co-founder of Meridian Hill Pictures with his brother Lance. Brandon directed The First Step (Tribeca, AFI DOCS); City of Trees (Full Frame Documentary Film Festival, PBS, Netflix); and the Webby Award-winning independent documentary series The Messy Truth (CNN). Brandon is a Film Independent Fellow, a DC Commission on the Arts & Humanities Fellow, a regular collaborator with Kartemquin Films, and a teacher for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. Brandon holds a BA in film and cultural anthropology from Boston University.

Director Brandon Kramer. Cinematography Yoni Brook, Omer Manor. Editing Jeff Gilbert. Music Jordan Dykstra. Sound Design Tristan Baylis. Sound Jim Choi. Producers Darren Aronofsky, Lance Kramer, Yoni Brook, Ari Handel, Justin A. Gonçalves. Executive Producers Elliott Joseph, Janine Frier, Alexandra Shiva. Co-Producer Hilla Medalia. Production companies Meridian Hill Pictures (Washington, DC, USA), Protozoa Pictures (New York, USA). With Yehuda Beinin, Liat Beinin Atzili, Chaya Beinin, Tal Beinin.

World sales Meridian Hill Pictures

Films: 2015: City of Trees. 2016: The Messy Truth. 2021: The First Step. 2025: Holding Liat.