‘Holding Liat’ Trailer – Family of October 7 Hostages Face Political and Emotional Toll in Brandon Kramer’s Documentary

Holding Liat is an intimate documentary on Israeli-American couple Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband Aviv Atzili, who were kidnapped from their kibbutz during the October 7 attacks, and the subsequent fight for Liat’s safe return.

Featured in the film produced by Darren Aronofsky, Lance Kramer, and Ari Handel, are real family members including Liat, her parents Yehuda and Chaya Beinin, and siblings.

Directed by Brandon Kramer, Holding Liat world premiered at the 75th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Berlinale Documentary Film Award; and later made its North American premiere at the 2025 Tribeca Festival. It is scheduled for U.S. theatrical release, beginning with a run at New York’s Film Forum on Friday, January 9, 2026, before expanding to additional cities.

In October 2023, two weeks after Israeli-American teacher Liat Atzili and her husband Aviv were kidnapped from their kibbutz in southern Israel by Hamas forces, filmmaker Brandon Kramer, a relative, follows the experiences of Liat’s family, providing an intimate and real-time portrait of their conflicting views, emotions, and strategies to secure their release. Disappointed and angered by Israel’s response to the attacks, Liat’s father, Yehuda, lobbies members of Congress to prioritize the release of the hostages, criticizes Netanyahu, and advocates for a peaceful reconciliation with Palestinians; Netta, Liat’s son (who narrowly escaped an attack), expresses anger toward Hamas and anti-war protestors; and Liat’s mother Chaya and younger sister Tal both clash with Yehuda and want politics left out of the equation.

“We had a unique access point to create a historical record of this moment through the frame of one family. Because of our pre-existing relationships beginning decades prior to October 7th, we were able to bear witness with an intimacy and depth that could go beyond the intense glare of the media spotlight. We filmed with the family in their homes, in the halls of Congress, and backstage at demonstrations, as they were thrust into the epicenter of this geopolitical crisis. Where the story led us was a profound place we never could have imagined from the onset.” said filmmaker Brandon Kramer.

Watch the official trailer for Holding Liat above.