The Liberation is set to arrive in U.S. theatres in early January 2027 after premiering at the BFI London film festival on October 10-11, 2026. The film follows Rita, a New Jersey bank clerk haunted by the memory of surviving the Holocaust, who is drawn into an all-female woodland commune led by a charismatic figure played by Lily James. While her two daughters attempt a rescue, Rita’s journey becomes a study of trauma, agency, and the seductive promise of a new beginning. Director Guy Nattiv has described the project as a deeply personal memoir, rooted in the real-life experiences of his own grandmother.
During a recent panel at Deadline’s Contenders London event, Nattiv opened up about the tangled family history that inspired the story. He recalled attending secretive gatherings with his grandmother as a child, describing the events as “dancing with people in the dark.” It was only in his teenage years that he recognized the gatherings as a cult, a revelation that would later fuel the film’s narrative core. When his grandmother passed away, Nattiv returned with a camera to document the remnants of the group, a process he says began “with a lot of empathy” for women seeking escape from unspeakable trauma.
From family trauma to cult narrative
The film’s premise hinges on the idea that a community claiming to free its members from past wounds can, paradoxically, become another form of captivity. Nattiv explained that his grandmother’s decision to abandon her family was an act of courage, however misunderstood by outsiders. The director’s own research involved revisiting the cult’s former meeting places and interviewing surviving members, an effort that shaped the screenplay’s delicate balance between dread and hope.
Empathy as creative lens
Both Nattiv and Carrie Coon emphasized that empathy guided their approach to the material. Nattiv believes the cult’s promise of “liberation” was a misguided attempt to heal Holocaust trauma, while Coon approached Rita’s grief by immersing herself in archival testimonies. She spent countless hours watching footage from Yad Vashem and the Shoah Foundation, focusing especially on narratives from Polish women, to capture the physicality of unspeakable memory. “There’s something very specific about the way the recounting of those unspeakable things is held in the body,” Coon remarked during the interview.
Rita’s inner world and Coon’s preparation
Rita’s character is a portrait of a survivor trying to reconcile a mundane present with a haunting past. Coon’s preparation included not only archival research but also consultations with trauma specialists to portray the subtle signs of post-war stress. She describes Rita’s journey as a “love story” with herself—an act of choosing a path that defies societal expectations. “Social rules are tacit agreements,” Coon said, noting how the film examines the invisible contracts that bind spouses, mothers, and daughters, and how breaking them can be both “brave and shocking.”
Festival screening and critical reaction
The London premiere generated a mixed yet thoughtful response. Critics praised the haunting cinematography crafted by Tudor Vladimir Panduru and Fabian Gamper, noting the contrast between sun-drenched forest roads and claustrophobic interior spaces. While the film’s deliberate pacing was described as a “slow-burn” that sometimes risked losing momentum, many reviewers highlighted Coon’s performance as the film’s anchor. The supporting cast—Lily James, Bella Ramsey, and Odessa Young—were also commended for delivering nuanced portrayals that keep the narrative grounded in female experience.
Despite the occasional narrative jump between present-day rescue attempts and flashbacks of Rita’s recruitment, the As the film heads toward its U.S. release on January 8, 2027, audiences can expect a contemplative piece that demands empathy as much as it offers it.
