Documentary backdrop image for Holding Liat (2025)

202597 minPGdocumentary

6.8/ 10(4 ratings)• TMDB

Conflict

Deep Dive

Holding Liat

Rating: 4
Author: Peter Bradshaw

202597 minPGdocumentary

6.8/ 10(4 ratings)• TMDB

Go deeper

Blood found in a kibbutz is confirmed to be from Aviv Atzili, whose wife Liat was kidnapped during the October 7 attacks near the Gaza border.

Conflict

Genres

History

Director

Brandon Kramer

Watch later

Synopsis

Blood found in a kibbutz is confirmed to be from Aviv Atzili, whose wife Liat was kidnapped during the October 7 attacks near the Gaza border.

Go deeper

People

View all →

Brandon Kramerdirector

Synopsis

Yehuda Beinin stands in front of a crowd in Portland, advocating for the release of his daughter, Liat Beinin Atzili, kidnapped from her kibbutz during the October 7 attacks. The film follows Yehuda, his wife Chaya, and their daughter Tal as they confront the Israeli government's inaction. They seek support from American politicians while grappling with their own grief. Liat's eventual release brings relief, but the family must face the loss of her husband, Aviv, as they navigate their new reality.

What Critics Say

Brandon Kramer’s documentary complicates any simple view of the Israel-Gaza war in its portrait of one family’s agonising divisions.

Peter BradshawRead full article

September 10, 2025

Deep Dive

Why Watch

See Yehuda Beinin's campaign against Israeli government inaction.
Meet Liat Beinin Atzili's family and their emotional journey.
Find out about the ceasefire demonstrations in Portland.

Did You Know

The film premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival on February 16, 2025.
Yehuda Beinin traveled to the United States to advocate for his daughter's release.
The film won the Berlinale Documentary Film Award at its premiere.
Liat Beinin Atzili was released by Hamas after her kidnapping.

Perfect For

Israeli-Palestinian conflictDocumentary film enthusiastsPolitical activism

Read full Deep Dive →

Frequently Asked Questions

Who directed the documentary Holding Liat?

Brandon Kramer directed the documentary Holding Liat.

What award did Holding Liat win at the Berlin International Film Festival?

Holding Liat won the Berlinale Documentary Film Award at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival.

When was Holding Liat released in the United Kingdom?

Holding Liat was released theatrically in the United Kingdom on September 12, 2025.

Awards & Festivals

CPH:DOX

2026 • Official selection

Berlin International Film Festival

2025 • Official selection

DOC NYC

2025 • Official selection

Awards & Festivals

Comments

What are people saying?

Play More Like This

25m

Israel: The Hostages' Ordeal

2025•25m

Eighteen months after the October 7 attacks, this documentary examines the ongoing trauma faced by Israeli hostages released by Hamas and the families still awaiting their return.

Israel: The Hostages' Ordeal

2025

31m

Are the Israeli Hostages Coming Back?

2024•31m

Alon advocates for the release of his sister, one of the hostages taken by Hamas during the October 7, 2023, attacks, amid a complex political landscape.

Are the Israeli Hostages Coming Back?

2024

26m

Gaza: Searching for the Missing

2026•26m

In the aftermath of a ceasefire, families in Gaza grapple with the heart-wrenching search for 11,000 missing loved ones amid ongoing violence.

Gaza: Searching for the Missing

2026

1h38m

Inside The Most Brutal ISIS Kidnap Of 3000 Innocent Women

2026•1h38m

In 2014, ISIS kidnapped over 3,000 Yezidi women and children in Iraq, leading to harrowing family negotiations for their release amid ongoing violence.

Inside The Most Brutal ISIS Kidnap Of 3000 Innocent Women

2026

1h22m

This Holocaust Survivor Became a Killer

2026•1h22m

Rafi "Tommy" Blitz, a Holocaust survivor, shot fellow refugee Pidia Piattelli during a 1957 robbery in Tel Aviv, leading to a complex narrative of crime and compassion.

This Holocaust Survivor Became a Killer

2026

43m

Lost Before Her 30th Birthday: What Happened To Linah Keza?

2021•43m

Linah Keza was murdered by her ex-partner just three days before her 30th birthday, leaving behind a two-year-old daughter and a grieving family.

Lost Before Her 30th Birthday: What Happened To Linah Keza?

2021

49m

Snatched: Getting My Daughters Back

2021•49m

For six years, Alison Lalic has searched for her two daughters, who were abducted by her husband and taken to Bosnia.

Snatched: Getting My Daughters Back

2021

59m

My daughter and the caliphate

2019•59m

In March 2015, 15-year-old Leonora Messing disappeared, prompting her father, Maik, to confront the reality of her joining the Islamic State.

My daughter and the caliphate

2019

51m

The Tragiedy of A Teen: The Search For Lisa Rene

2020•51m

On September 24, 1994, 16-year-old Lisa Rene was kidnapped from her Arlington, Texas home by men posing as FBI agents.

The Tragiedy of A Teen: The Search For Lisa Rene

2020

1h40m

For Sama

2019•1h40m•★8.2TMDB

Five years of conflict in Aleppo are documented through the eyes of a journalist and mother raising her daughter amid the Syrian Civil War.

For Sama

2019

1h37m

1989 - The fall of Communism

2025•1h37m

More than 30,000 East Germans fled to the West in the late 1980s, prompting massive uprisings and significant political changes in Eastern Europe.

1989 - The fall of Communism

2025

48m

England Divided: Which Counties Sided With The King?

2023•48m

England faces great bitterness as the Civil War divides families and tests loyalties.

England Divided: Which Counties Sided With The King?

2023

Explore Holding Liat

Trailer People Awards Deep Dive Topics FAQ Stream

Where else to watch

1h40m

For Sama

2019•1h40m•★8.2TMDB

Five years of conflict in Aleppo are documented through the eyes of a journalist and mother raising her daughter amid the Syrian Civil War.

For Sama

2019

No digital watch option in your country

1h23m

Bye Bye Tiberias

2024•1h23m•★7.9TMDB

Thirty years after leaving her Palestinian village, Hiam Abbass returns with her daughter to confront the choices that shaped their family.

Bye Bye Tiberias

2024

1h34m

Adriana's Pact

2017•1h34m•★7.4TMDB

In 2007, Lissette's aunt Adriana is arrested in Chile, facing allegations of working for the DINA, the secret police under dictator Augusto Pinochet.

Adriana's Pact

2017

1h17m

Liyana

2017•1h17m•★9.0TMDB

A group of Swazi orphans creates a fictional story about a girl named Liyana who embarks on a quest to rescue her kidnapped twin brothers.

Liyana

2017

59m

Let It Know

2024•59m•★5.0TMDB

A family is torn apart by the kidnapping, torture, and murder of a father by the Basque separatist group ETA in the 1980s.

Let It Know

2024

1h38m

Nila's Dream in the Garden of Eden

2024•1h38m•★8.0TMDB

Six-year-old Nila lacks a birth certificate, making her legally non-existent and unable to attend school in Mashhad, Iran.

Nila's Dream in the Garden of Eden

2024

1h31m

Latifa: A Fighting Heart

2017•1h31m•★5.8TMDB

Latifa travels across France to engage with individuals and organizations about integration, racism, and Islam after losing her son in a terrorist attack.

Latifa: A Fighting Heart

2017

1h11m

There is No Way Back Home

2021•1h11m•★7.0TMDB

Fifty years after Robert Gottlieb migrated to Israel, his daughter Yaela travels to Lima and Buenos Aires to retrace his past and confront family expectations.

There is No Way Back Home

2021