Annual Max Ticktin Event: Screening of “Holding Liat” followed by Q&A
Winner of the 2025 Berlin International Film Festival’s Documentary Award, Holding Liat offers an intimate and harrowing account of Israeli-American Liat Atzili’s captivity in Gaza following the October 7, 2023 attacks. Through the lens of her family’s struggle, the film explores identity, diplomacy, and generational reckoning amid a rapidly unfolding global crisis.
After the screening, Dr. Arie Dubnov and Dr. Boaz Atzili will lead a Q&A exploring the film’s themes and its resonance with contemporary political and personal narratives.
We hope you’ll join us for this powerful evening of reflection and dialogue. The event is open to all members of the GW community and the general public.
For questions, please contact: judaic@gwu.edu
Speakers
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Dr. Arie Dubnov is an Associate Professor of History and International Affairs who also serves as the Max Ticktin Chair of Israel Studies. Trained in Israel and the U.S., he is a historian of twentieth-century Jewish and Israeli history, with emphasis on the history of political thought, the study of nationalism, decolonization, and partition politics.
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Dr. Boaz Atzili is a political scientist who researches and teaches international politics at American University. His interest is in international security with an emphasis on the politics of borders, borderlands and territoriality, Asymmetric deterrence, and the international aspects of state weakness.
