EXCLUSIVE: Berlinale Best Documentary winner Holding Liat, which examines the Gaza war through the lens of an Israeli family whose daughter was kidnapped on October 7, has sold to key markets ahead of its first theatrical release in the UK on September 12.
Buyers on the Darren Aronofsky-produced film include France (L’Atelier D’Images), Germany (Arsenal – Institut für Film und Videokunst e.V. for theatrical and ZDF/3sat for broadcast), Israel (theatrical run coordinated by Rotem Heyman followed by a television premiere on Yes), Japan (United People), Spain (Filmin); and the UK (BBC Storyville). MetFilm will be releasing theatrically in the UK.
In the U.S., Film Forum will be handling its exclusive New York theatrical run, followed by a multi-city U.S. domestic release, date to be announced. An Oscar and BAFTA awards run is being lined up. MetFilm handles all sales.
The critically praised documentary from filmmakers are Brandon & Lance Kramer follows the story of Israeli-American Liat Atzili and her husband Aviv, who were at home when Hamas attacked their kibbutz on October 7, 2023. By nightfall, Liat and Aviv were captives in Gaza along with 250 other people – 12 of whom, like Liat, were American citizens.
Caught between international diplomacy and a rapidly escalating war, their family must face their own uncertainty and conflicting perspectives in the pursuit of Liat and Aviv’s release. What begins as a chronicle of her parents, sister, and children’s efforts to secure her return, becomes a portrait of conflicting impulses towards anger, vengeance, and compassion, straining the bonds of one grieving family.
“Almost two years after October 7, lives are still imperiled: with hostages still held, tens of thousands of Palestinians killed, and people across the region suffering. Our conversations about all of these issues have only become more polarized, even within communities and families,” said director Brandon Kramer.
“By telling an intimate story of one directly impacted family, and the way they navigated differences amongst each other, we hope to open up new possibilities for understanding this conflict, and contribute to an end to the unrelenting violence in the region.”
When the film was awarded the Best Documentary Award at the Berlinale (scooped by Oscar winner No Other Land the year before), the jury chair Petra Costa stated: “Holding Liat shows the path not of revenge but of humanity where we are challenged to look beyond the fence and care rather than kill our neighbors.”
Following its premiere at the Berlinale Forum, the film has screened in Poland at Millennium Docs; Hong Kong at the Hong Kong International Film Festival; Israel as the sold-out opening night presentation of DOC/AVIV (Honorable Mention for Best International Documentary); New York at the Tribeca Film Festival (with four sold out screenings); Washington, DC at DC/DOX, the Centerpiece Screening at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival, Melbourne International Film Festival, among other locations.
Producers are Common Pictures, Gigantic Studios, Kartemquin Films, Meridian Hill Pictures and Protozoa.
