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1Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errors2Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minute3Repair Windows errors before they cause bigger problemsHolding Liat grew out of a family emergency, not a conventional documentary pitch. Directors Brandon and Lance Kramer had known the Beinin family for years; after Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband Aviv were abducted during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on their kibbutz, the filmmakers first reached out as relatives and friends. As the family sought their return, the Kramers began documenting that effort—and had to reckon with the fact that Liat was absent and could not consent when filming began. The film was shortlisted for the 98th Academy Awards, but was not among the final nominees.
What Holding Liat documents
Brandon Kramer’s 2025, 97-minute documentary follows the Beinin family after Liat Beinin Atzili, an Israeli-American, and her husband Aviv were abducted from their home during the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on their kibbutz. It stays with the family’s attempts to secure their return, amid fear, grief, political disagreement, diplomacy, and the war in Gaza. MetFilm Studio lists the runtime as 97 minutes (film listing).
The film is a family portrait set within a much wider conflict, not a comprehensive account of the conflict as a whole. That scope matters: its point of view is shaped by the Beinin family’s experience and the choices they face. The Film Collaborative describes the film and its exhibition formats on its film page.
How the Kramers came to film the family
Brandon and Lance Kramer had longstanding ties to members of the Beinin family. After learning that Liat and Aviv were missing, they contacted the family in the role they already occupied in their lives: as relatives and friends. Yehuda Beinin was preparing to travel to Washington, D.C., to lobby for help bringing the hostages home, and the filmmakers began documenting that effort. The International Documentary Association’s interview with the filmmakers describes how those personal ties informed the project (IDA interview).
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That origin shaped the film’s behind-the-scenes story. The Kramers were not detached observers arriving after the crisis had settled into a finished narrative; they were close to a family facing an unfolding emergency. Their familiarity offered access, but also made the boundary between being present as family and filming as documentarians unusually consequential.
Why consent was an ethical challenge
Liat was absent and unable to consent when filming began. That is a central ethical difficulty of the production, not a minor technical detail. The IDA interview addresses consent, the filmmakers’ closeness to the family, and their responsibilities in making the film. It does not establish a detailed consent protocol or a specific outcome, so it would be misleading to claim more than the interview supports.
The question is also larger than whether a camera could record events. The filmmakers were documenting people they knew during a period of acute uncertainty, while one of the film’s central subjects could not take part in the initial decision to be filmed. The circumstances make questions of agency, privacy, and the filmmakers’ obligations part of how the film should be understood.
Family differences are part of the film’s subject
The documentary does not present the family as a unified voice. In an interview, Brandon Kramer described recognizing that the project was about more than a hostage family: it also showed a family navigating fractures that exist in communities more broadly. Lance Kramer said the film is not expressly political, while politics remains a core dimension of how family members process the situation and grief (IDA interview).
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This distinction helps explain the film’s approach. The family’s political disagreements are not a detour from their personal crisis; they are among the ways its members interpret that crisis. The film’s perspective remains intimate rather than attempting to represent every position or experience connected to the wider war.
What the title asks of viewers
In a Democracy Now! interview with Amy Goodman, Brandon Kramer explained the title as an invitation to consider the limits and responsibilities of attention: “But, to me, it’s also a way, like, sort of asking the audience: How can you hold Liat?” (interview).
Liat Beinin Atzili offered a related appeal in the same interview: “Be willing to listen.” The surrounding conversation connects that request to hearing complex stories and empathizing with people whose experiences may conflict. Together, the remarks point toward a film that asks its audience to listen without pretending that one family’s story can stand in for everyone affected by the conflict.
Was Holding Liat nominated for an Oscar?
No. The Academy included Holding Liat on the 15-film documentary-feature shortlist for the 98th Academy Awards, announced December 16, 2025. The Academy announced five final nominees on January 22, 2026, and Holding Liat was not among them. The accurate description is Oscar-shortlisted, not Oscar-nominated. See the Academy’s 98th Awards shortlists and final nominations.
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The film won the 2025 Berlinale Documentary Film Award, a separate recognition (Berlinale announcement).
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Who made the film?
Holding Liat was directed by Brandon Kramer. Its production partners include Protozoa Pictures and Meridian Hill Pictures. The listed producers are Darren Aronofsky, Lance Kramer, Yoni Brook, Ari Handel, and Justin A. Gonçalves; Jeff Gilbert edited the film, Yoni Brook and Omer Manor were cinematographers, and Jordan Dykstra composed the score. The Film Collaborative provides film and distribution information on its listing.
How to arrange a screening
The available routes described by the film’s distributors are aimed at organizations and educational audiences, not necessarily individual home viewing. Terms, territories, formats, and eligibility can differ, so contact the relevant rights holder before planning an event or purchase.
- Community screening: Kartemquin provides a route for arranging a community screening and film information through its film page.
- Educational or institutional use: Collective Eye Films lists an educational DVD and digital site-license options for educational and institutional audiences on its product page. Confirm current availability, license scope, and screening rights directly with the distributor.
- Other exhibition formats: The Film Collaborative lists worldwide territories and DCP and digital-download exhibition formats (distribution information).
These listings do not establish that a standard consumer DVD is available or that the film is sold through Amazon. For an individual viewer, check the film’s current distribution information rather than assuming an educational or institutional offer grants personal access.
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