Guy Nattiv’s upcoming drama, *The Liberation*, premiering at the Telluride Film Festival, is based on the true story of his maternal grandmother, a Holocaust survivor who joined a cult in the 1980s. The film explores her search for spiritual fulfillment and subsequent decision to leave her family in Israel to follow a charismatic female leader to the United States.
Nattiv, who previously won an Academy Award for his short film *Skin* and directed a feature-length version of the same name, as well as the Golda Meir biopic *Golda*, began considering the project ten years ago. He initially felt unprepared to direct the film, stating he wasn’t “emotionally developed enough to dive in.” He later revisited the story after gaining more life and filmmaking experience, including starting a family.
Writing the screenplay proved emotionally challenging for Nattiv, who experienced a panic attack and required hospitalization. He ultimately realized he was channeling his grandmother’s feelings of misery and being torn. “I felt my grandmother. I felt her misery. I felt how she was torn, and the darkness of it,” he said.
Carrie Coon plays Rita, the character inspired by Nattiv’s grandmother, in *The Liberation*. Nattiv emphasized his compassion for his grandmother as a driving force behind the film, while also noting he took creative liberties with the plot. The film will receive an awards-qualifying run in December, released by Bleecker Street.
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