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If Holding Liat left you thinking about the people waiting for a hostage to come home, start with A Letter to David. It shares the October 7 hostage context, but approaches it through filmmaker Tom Shoval’s personal connection to David Cunio and the role cinema plays in memory. It is an intimate companion, not another family advocacy chronicle.
Start with A Letter to David
A Letter to David is the clearest follow-up for viewers seeking another documentary connected to a hostage and the people close to him. Film at Lincoln Center lists it as a 2025 documentary essay by Tom Shoval, running 74 minutes and presented in Hebrew with English subtitles. Shoval addresses the film to his friend David Cunio, who was taken hostage on October 7, and reflects on cinema, friendship and memory.
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The film’s form distinguishes it from Holding Liat. Rather than following a family’s public efforts to secure a hostage’s release, Shoval makes a personal cinematic letter. Its materials include raw behind-the-scenes footage, audition tapes and scenes associated with Youth, Shoval’s earlier film involving Cunio. Film at Lincoln Center says it does not use footage from the attacks themselves. Green Productions likewise describes the work as a personal letter using material from the making of Youth to consider memory, cinema and war.
That makes this a strong choice if what stayed with you was the human relationship at the center of Holding Liat, or the way a documentary can hold personal memory alongside a political crisis. Expect a different point of view and filmmaking approach, not a second account of the Beinin family’s experience.
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How it differs from Holding Liat
Holding Liat is a 2025 feature documentary directed by Brandon Kramer. Common Pictures describes the film as following the Beinin family as they try to bring Liat Beinin Atzili home and navigate emotional and political divisions. Her father, Yehuda, resists using her captivity to justify escalating violence in Gaza. The film focuses on the family’s responses as well as their efforts on Liat’s behalf.
Viennale identifies Liat as a history teacher and mother of three adult children, taken hostage from Kibbutz Nir Oz during the October 7, 2023 attacks. Its listing says Yehuda traveled to Washington with family members to seek U.S. intervention. Liat was released two months later; her husband, Aviv, did not survive. Viennale lists the film as a United States production from 2025 with a runtime of 97 minutes.
| Film | Whose experience is centered? | Approach | Runtime and language |
|---|---|---|---|
| Holding Liat | The Beinin family’s efforts and differing responses after Liat Beinin Atzili was taken hostage | Documentary feature following the family and their advocacy | 97 minutes; language details are not stated in the cited Viennale listing |
| A Letter to David | Filmmaker Tom Shoval’s friendship with David Cunio | Personal documentary essay built from earlier filmmaking material and footage | 74 minutes; Hebrew with English subtitles |
The runtimes come from Viennale’s listing for Holding Liat and Film at Lincoln Center’s listing for A Letter to David. Those figures can help you choose between a longer family portrait and a shorter, more essayistic film, but runtime alone does not indicate how emotionally demanding either film will feel.
What the two films share—and what they do not
Both films connect a hostage’s experience to relationships that continue beyond the person held captive: family in Holding Liat, and friendship and shared creative history in A Letter to David. Each also asks how people make meaning under circumstances shaped by October 7 and its aftermath.
Their emphases are not interchangeable. Holding Liat stays close to a family’s differing emotional and political responses and efforts to bring Liat home. A Letter to David takes a filmmaker’s point of view, using material from an earlier collaboration to think about the person who is absent and the images that preserve a connection. If you are specifically looking for a film about relatives organizing or advocating for a hostage, Holding Liat remains the more direct fit; if you want a personal film about friendship, cinema and memory, Shoval’s film is the natural next watch.
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Which film should you watch first?
If you have not yet seen Holding Liat and are choosing based on the subject, it is the more direct portrait of a hostage family. The film follows the Beinin family’s effort to bring Liat home and the disagreements that shape how relatives respond. It is also the longer of the two documented films, at 97 minutes. If your interest is specifically in how family members navigate advocacy, grief and political disagreement, begin there.
If you have already watched Holding Liat and want a related film rather than a repeat of its structure, choose A Letter to David. At 74 minutes, it is shorter, but the key distinction is not simply length: it is a filmmaker’s address to a friend, built from their shared history in cinema. Its use of audition tapes, raw behind-the-scenes material and scenes from Youth makes filmmaking itself part of the subject. The available descriptions do not suggest that it follows a family campaign or gives the same kind of account of relatives’ public advocacy.
That difference matters when searching for “documentaries about hostage families” or “films about families of hostages.” The closest thematic companion is not necessarily another film centered on relatives. A Letter to David belongs on this list because it shares the hostage context and personal stakes, while offering a distinct route into memory and connection. It should be presented as a companion, not as an equivalent family chronicle.
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Availability depends on your country and can change. The listings cited here do not establish that either film is currently streaming in any particular territory, so check a current local catalog, distributor listing or cinema schedule before planning to watch. A film page or festival listing can confirm the title’s description and credits without confirming that a home-viewing option is available where you live.
For Holding Liat, Collective Eye Films lists an educational DVD, a digital site license and a combined DVD/site license. These are institutional options, not evidence of ordinary home-video retail availability. Its listed $375 price applies to the institutional offer and should not be read as a consumer DVD price. A search for a “Holding Liat documentary DVD” should therefore distinguish institutional licensing from a retail disc intended for individual buyers; the cited listing does not establish normal consumer inventory or an Amazon affiliate opportunity.
Rank #3
The Film Collaborative lists DCP and digital-download exhibition formats and provides screening resources. Those formats and resources concern exhibition; they do not confirm consumer streaming access or establish a retail purchase option. For a school, library, community group or other organization considering a screening, the relevant next step is to contact the distributor or screening resource and confirm the license, permitted use, current terms and availability directly. No current source cited here establishes an affiliate program or commission for these screening options.
Film at Lincoln Center’s page provides the description and screening context for A Letter to David, while Green Productions provides a film page. Neither listing, by itself, confirms current streaming access in your location. Check a local distributor, cinema or festival schedule for the latest options rather than assuming a title is on a particular platform.
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A paper from the Institute for Palestine Studies names 52 Days and Children of October 7 in a discussion of documentary treatments of hostages and family relationships, including testimony from released hostages and accounts from relatives. That is enough to identify them as potentially relevant research leads, but not enough to describe either film confidently or to say that it is a direct follow-up to Holding Liat.
The material available here does not establish reliable individual synopses, runtimes, credits or current viewing options for either title. Do not infer those details from a brief mention in a broader discussion, and do not assume that a film’s subject or access is the same in every territory. If one of the titles interests you, verify its synopsis and credits through a current film or distributor listing before deciding whether it fits what you want to watch.
For a well-documented companion with a clear connection to hostagehood and personal memory, A Letter to David remains the supported recommendation in this guide. The two additional titles may merit a future listing once their film details and local availability can be checked.
Rank #4
Credits and details worth checking
Catalog information and release details can change, so verify current listings before publication or before making plans. The Film Collaborative lists Holding Liat as a recipient of the 2025 Berlinale Documentary Film Award and as having a 2026 Academy Award shortlist designation. These are time-sensitive award-status details, not a guide to where the film can be watched. Recheck the Film Collaborative’s current page if including awards in a listing.
The core recommendation does not depend on an award claim: it rests on the documented contrast between Kramer’s family-centered feature and Shoval’s personal essay. Likewise, no verified statistic or exact attributable quotation is needed to make the comparison. Keeping the guide grounded in the films’ credited descriptions and catalog facts is more useful than adding numbers or quotes that have not been confirmed.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Sources
- Common Pictures: Holding Liat
- Viennale: Holding Liat
- The Film Collaborative: Holding Liat
- Collective Eye Films: Holding Liat educational licensing
- Film at Lincoln Center: A Letter to David
- Green Productions: A Letter to David
Frequently Asked Questions
What should I watch after Holding Liat?
A Letter to David is the clearest supported follow-up in this guide. Tom Shoval’s 2025, 74-minute documentary essay is about his friend David Cunio, their shared filmmaking history, and cinema and memory. It is a personal letter, not another family advocacy chronicle.
Is A Letter to David about a hostage’s family?
It is connected to a hostage and someone close to him, but its point of view is Shoval’s friendship with Cunio and their creative history. The available descriptions do not characterize it as a family campaign or an account of relatives organizing for a hostage’s release.
How long are Holding Liat and A Letter to David?
Viennale lists Holding Liat at 97 minutes. Film at Lincoln Center lists A Letter to David at 74 minutes, in Hebrew with English subtitles.
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Where can I stream these documentaries?
The cited listings do not confirm current streaming availability in any country. Check a current local catalog, distributor listing or screening schedule before planning to watch.
Can I buy a regular Holding Liat DVD?
The cited Collective Eye Films listing is for an educational DVD, a digital site license, or a combined institutional license. Its $375 listed price is for that offer, not evidence of a standard consumer DVD price or ordinary retail availability.
Are 52 Days and Children of October 7 confirmed recommendations?
A Palestine Studies paper names both in a discussion of documentaries addressing hostages and family relationships, but the available information does not establish enough about their individual descriptions, credits, runtimes or current viewing options to recommend either confidently.
The Bottom Line
For a close thematic follow-up to Holding Liat, watch A Letter to David: it shares the hostage context but shifts from a family’s public efforts to a filmmaker’s intimate reflection on friendship, cinema and memory. Check local listings for access, and treat 52 Days and Children of October 7 as leads until their details are verified.
Quick Recap
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