Holding Liat
The story of a Hamas hostage sheds light on conflicting views and moral certainties over events in Gaza.
Image courtesy of MetFilm Distribution.
Brandon Kramer's film is a perfect illustration of how in the documentary field a personal tale can provide a vivid and powerful insight into wider issues becoming in the process an illuminating microcosm. Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband Aviv were just two of those who had the tragic misfortune to be kidnapped in the Hamas attack of 7th October 2023 and Holding Liat concentrates exclusively on the experiences of her family in the course of the following eight weeks. Throughout this time, they find themselves first awaiting information about the couple’s fate and later on news of a possible release. In the event Liat would eventually be one of the hostages who would be returned. But before that happened there would be a long wait and concerns over how the war in Gaza might be handled in ways that could be fatal to the lives of those Israelis who were held hostage and that inevitably made this a traumatic time for the family.
Be it through news headlines, articles or reportage including other films about this situation, the world has been made fully aware of the events of 7th October and of what has followed in consequence and the responses to all that have been notably diverse. The subject is one on which politicians and historians have expressed a range of views depending on their particular stance, but in many respects it is more valuable to get a sense of it all through seeing a film like this. By following in detail what happened within one family we are able to view it directly in human terms and that is all the more valuable because the Beinin family, who are headed by Liat’s father Yehuda, comprise individuals who are not always wholly at one in their responses.
Holding Liat is a remarkably honest close-up view of Liat's family. In addition to Yehuda, they include her mother Chaya Beinin, her sister Tal Beinin, her uncle Joel and her three young adult children, Ofri, Aya, and Netta (the latter being the most prominent of the three here). The latter had also been at Kibbutz Nir Oz where Liat and Aviv were seized but he had escaped their fate although being there meant that the experience left him filled with outright anger. Yehuda may have feelings that are no less strong but had grown up with firm liberal views and a concern for fair dealing. His beliefs in this respect lead him to feel that both Israelis and Palestinians are being led by crazy people. His stated view of Netanyahu is that in giving priority to invading Gaza rather than getting the hostages back he is taking advantage of the crisis to promote his own agenda. Yehuda’s brother, Joel, lives in America and had long since left Israel discomforted by what he regarded as his country’s historic wrongs towards the Palestinians. He is the family member most strongly choosing their side. But many, whether or not they endorse Yehuda’s view of Prime Minister Netanyahu’s motives, will feel that he speaks for them. He expresses the beliefs of all those Israelis who are deeply concerned by the extent to which Gaza has been destroyed and also recognise the need to take a long view which involves hoping for peace and reconciliation through what may well need to be a two-state solution. Meanwhile, along with his grandson Netta, Yehuda visits the USA in an attempt to stir up politicians of both parties to recognise the priority that the plight of the hostages calls for. As for Yehuda's wife, Chaya, she has no such distraction from worrying all the time about Liat and Aviv as she carries on with her home life. Yet, inevitably, the long delay in waiting for news is hugely stressful for both of them and the film is honest enough to include a scene late on which finds the two of them reduced to arguing with each other (it is painful viewing).
The intimacy of Holding Liat undoubtedly stems from the fact that the director Brandon Kramer and his brother Lance who is one of the producers were distant cousins of the family at its centre. In the circumstances they were encouraged to record what was happening very early on and the film, astutely edited, takes us through events week by week. Initially tension lies in having no news at all and later, once Liat is known to be alive, it arises through her not being included in the first set of hostages released despite expectation that she might be. The fact that the film is told chronologically means that it has a natural dramatic arc, one which leads eventually to Liat’s reunion with her family. That is not in fact the end of the film which then includes footage featuring Liat herself. We learn that she was lucky when in captivity to have been housed by a family who treated her reasonably well and, if this part of the film lacks shape to some extent, Brandon Kramer does find very effective closing material when some months later Liat visits a Holocaust memorial. Her comments at that time conclude the film.
There is no doubt that Holding Liat is fully aware of the complex issues inherent in the long conflict between the Israelis and the Palestinians and it allows various attitudes to be expressed. Nevertheless, one sees it as a film which encourages one to share the viewpoint of Yehuda Beinin in particular. Consequently, it underlines the fact that to be highly critical of Netanyahu and to deplore the extent to which Gaza and its civilians have suffered is perfectly consistent with being an Israeli patriot since it is in the interest of Israel to call out actions taken by it which one recognises as being morally wrong. In many ways the most memorable scene in Holding Liat – and one of the few that carries real hope – is a moment when Yehuda and a Palestinian advocate named Ahmed Mansour encounter one another. They speak quietly and in confidence to express what they feel cannot be said out loud and in this way they share their hope of a fair outcome for all. In a world where those in charge on both sides encourage ever stronger opposition and hostility, we have here two individuals who, if only in private, are prepared to challenge that attitude. Seeing Holding Liat may encourage others to share their view and to speak out.
MANSEL STIMPSON
Featuring Yehuda Beinin, Netta Atzili, Chaya Beinin, Tal Beinin, Liat Beinin Atzili, Ofri Atzili, Joel Beinin, Aya Atzili, Mickey Bergman, Ohad Miller, Gabriel Groisman, Roger Carstens, Ahmed Mansour.
Dir Brandon Kramer, Pro Lance Kramer, Darren Aronofsky, Ari Handel, Justin A. Gonçalves and Yoni Brook, Ph Yoni Brook and Omer Manor, Ed Jeff Gilbert, Music Jordan Dykstra.
Protozoa/Meridian Hill Pictures/Kartemquin Films/Common Pictures-MetFilm Distribution.
97 mins. USA. 2025. UK Rel: 12 September 2025. Cert. 15.
