Synopsis

This powerful, poignant documentary follows the Beinin family, who find themselves ensnared in one of the defining political calamities of our times. On the morning of October 7, 2023, Liat Beinin Atzili and her husband Aviv were kidnapped from their kibbutz by Hamas militants, leaving Liat’s American-Israeli parents, Chaya and Yehuda, desperate to get their daughter back. Yehuda, who travels to Washington D.C. to advocate for his daughter’s release, is a die-hard leftist and long-time critic of Benjamin Netanyahu. But as the days turn into weeks and then months, tensions rise, leaving the family worried, angry, and divided.

Tense and affecting, the film chronicles the Beinin clan’s race against time to save their family members, while also rendering the conflicting ideologies of those caught in the quagmire with great nuance. Winner of the top documentary prize at this year’s Berlin Film Festival, Holding Liat offers a profoundly moving story of a family in crisis and raises provocative questions about identity, faith, morality, and justice in a society thrown into turmoil by the war in Gaza.

Synopsis

When Israeli soldiers interrupt her commute home, a Palestinian doctor is forced down a desolate road and her future is thrown into disarray.

This film screens as part of Shorts Program 1: After Dark.

Synopsis

When Sami returns with his wife and son to his Arabic village for his brother’s wedding, he plans a quick return to Jerusalem, where his business and mistress await. Just as he is leaving, the village is unexpectedly put under lockdown by Israeli soldiers, and Sami finds himself caught in an uneasy web of personal and political intrigues. This adaptation of Sayed Kashua’s 2006 novel mixes wry comedy with a touch of the absurd to create a perceptive, winsome satire.

Synopsis

This perceptive documentary follows 12-year-old Idan, a talented young athlete anticipating his Bar Mitzvah. More than a rite of passage, it represents the first time the boy will meet his African father, Tony Toklomati, a professional soccer player removed from the country for lying about his age. But will the family raise enough money to pay his way to Israel, and how long will he be able to stay?