TUESDAY TALKS
A Community Speaker Series Featuring Some of Our Neighborhood’s Most Fascinating People
at the Cleveland Park Library
Our Next Talk:
Tuesday, October 20, 2026
START TIME: 6:45PM
TUESDAY, OCT. 20
6:45 Talk begins
Brandon and Lance Kramer
Filmmakers
The Frame of a Family:
The Surprising Behind-the-Scenes Journey of the Oscar-Shortlisted Documentary Holding Liat
DC-based filmmakers Brandon and Lance Kramer co-founded Meridian Hill Pictures. Over the past two decades, their films have explored intimate and complex stories unfolding within socially divided spaces, from CITY OF TREES (2015), to THE FIRST STEP (2021), and their most recent film, HOLDING LIAT, which won the prestigious Berlin International Film Festival Best Documentary Award and was Shortlisted for the 2026 Oscars for Best Feature Documentary.
The brothers will discuss the process behind making HOLDING LIAT — which documents the emotional and political fractures within a family after their relative was taken hostage to Gaza — and the film’s surprising journey opening new conversations and connections across lines of difference amidst a deeply divided world.
HOLDING LIAT has now launched on digital platforms, so you can watch the film prior to the Tuesday Talk. It is available to rent or own on Apple TV and YouTube (with Kanopy and Amazon coming soon).
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Free and in person. Start time: 6:45 PM
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Brandon and Lance Kramer
Brandon Kramer is a Washington, DC-based filmmaker and co-founder of Meridian Hill Pictures. Brandon directed HOLDING LIAT, which was shortlisted for the 2026 Academy Awards, won Best Documentary at the Berlin International Film Festival, was selected for the Winner’s Circle at DOC NYC, and was broadcast on BBC Storyville. He also directed THE FIRST STEP, which premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival; CITY OF TREES, which was distributed by PBS and Netflix; and the Webby Award-winning documentary series THE MESSY TRUTH, which aired on CNN. Brandon’s work has been supported by the Sundance Institute, Film Independent, Jewish Story Partners and the National Endowment for the Arts. Brandon is a recipient of the Visionary Award from the Sitar Arts Center, and holds a bachelor’s degree in film and cultural anthropology from Boston University.
Lance Kramer is a Washington, DC-based filmmaker and co-founder of Meridian Hill Pictures. Lance produced HOLDING LIAT (Berlinale Documentary Award Winner, Oscars Shortlisted); THE FIRST STEP (Tribeca, AFI DOCS); CITY OF TREES (Full Frame, PBS, Netflix) and the Webby Award-winning series THE MESSY TRUTH. Lance has served as an advisor in the Sundance Producers Lab, was a Film Independent Fellow and Fast Track participant, was a fellow in the Sundance Creative Producers Summit and Impact Partners Documentary Producers Fellowship, and was named to the DOC NYC “40 Under 40” list. Lance received the DC Mayor’s Arts Award in 2014, the highest honor given to working artists in the Nation’s Capital. Lance is a former Board Member of Docs in Progress, a member of the Documentary Producers Alliance, and currently serves on the board of the Foundation for the Augmentation of African Americans in Film (FAAAF).