A searingly honest and, at times, difficult-to-witness take on the human aspect of the Gaza War
On 7 October 2023, Liat Beinin Atzili – 49 years old, a US-Israeli dual-citizen, history teacher and mother of three – was kidnapped by Hamas gunmen from her home in Nir Oz kibbutz. Her husband Aviv, a member of the kibbutz’s first response team, disappeared during the attack. No one knew whether he was alive or dead. The family home was burned to the ground, destroyed along with the rest of the kibbutz. These are the realities that underpin director Brandon Kramer's documentary Holding Liat – just one terrible story amongst thousands of others from that black day.
The film follows Liat’s family, in particular her father Yehuda, as they campaign desperately to try and secure her release from captivity. Kramer, a distant relative of Liat’s family who has known them for years, follows their trip to Washington as part of a group of hostage families lobbying the American political establishment for support. This pre-existing relationship allows him to document the most painful, intimate and traumatic moments. Herein lies the film’s true power. The massacre on 7 October and Israel’s apocalyptic response has been deeply and irrevocably politicised, but Holding Liat is a human story. It’s about how people and families respond to trauma – how we struggle to hold onto our principles, ideals and our bonds to each other in the face of overwhelming horror.
Yehuda was a member of the left-wing Zionist group Hashomer Hatzair. He viscerally loathes Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu and detests being wheeled around Washington as a prop for the Israeli government, which he feels is instrumentalising his grief to advance its own agenda. By contrast, Liat’s youngest son Netta believes that 7 October justifies a no-holds-barred response from the Israeli military, judging all Palestinians in the Gaza Strip as complicit. Meanwhile, Liat’s sister Tal begs the family to focus solely on securing Liat’s release and not to get distracted by the broader politics. It mirrors the tensions tearing at the very fabric of Israeli society and the wider Jewish diaspora, played out before an unflinching camera lens. The temptation to look away, to give the family privacy in navigating these divisions, can become overwhelming.
After 54 days in captivity, Liat is released during a ceasefire agreement. After an emotional family reunion, she learns that her husband Aviv was killed during the initial attack. As they mourn together, the film switches its focus to its namesake. Liat is not filled with hatred or a bloodthirsty desire for revenge. She believes that only a shared future for Israelis and Palestinians can bring an end to the interminable cycle of violence. Her determination to maintain this empathy shines like a sliver of light in the darkest of nights. Despite everything, the documentary retains a sense of hope for the future, no matter how small.
Holding Liat is superb. The direction, editing and powerful score succeed in bringing us right into the heart of the Beinin family in an undeniably moving feat of filmmaking.
By Barney Pell Scholes
Images courtesy of Meridian Hill Pictures
Holding Liat is out now in select cinemas. meridianhillpictures.com/holdingliat