EXCLUSIVE: David and Ariel Cunio, who were among the last Israeli hostages to be freed from Gaza after two years of captivity last October, will travel to Berlin next week for a screening of Tom Shoval’s A Letter To David – The Complete Version.
The film is an updated version of A Letter To David, which Shoval made in response to his friend David Cunio’s long-term captivity in Gaza. He was kidnapped on October 7 2023 with his wife and twin daughters from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz, where around 180 of the some 400 residents were either killed or abducted that day.
The film played as a special screening at the Berlinale last year, when the two brothers were still being held hostage in Gaza, with no hope of release in sight.
Shoval first became friends with David Cunio, when he and his twin brother Eitan starred in his first feature Youth, which premiered in Berlinale’s Panorama in 2013. In a strange parallel which hit Shoval hard, the Cunios played brothers who kidnap a young woman using a military service-issued rifle to pay off family debts in the film
As he processed what had happened to his friend, Shoval revisited raw footage, unedited behind-the-scenes material, and auditions, weaving them together in a documentary that served as both a personal letter and a multi-layered portrayal of the new reality in war-torn Kibbutz Nir Oz, where many were murdered or abducted.
The visual journey reflected on what was and never will be again, the cruel separation of the brothers, and the inexplicable connection between life and cinema, memory and reality.
Shoval never gave up hope that he would see David again, publicly declaring at screenings that he did not consider the film finished until he was back home and once he was, he would recut the ending.
In a moving epilogue to the story, Shoval returns to Berlin next week in the company of David and Ariel Cunio and their families for a screening of the new version. Not officially on the Berlinale lineup, the screening is organized by the Future Narrative Fund and Babylon cinema, in cooperation with the Berlinale, Shoval, Green Productions, and producer Nancy Spielberg of Playmount Productions.
“A year ago, we screened A Letter to David in the Berlinale, while David and Ariel were still being held hostage in Gaza. We did not know their condition, and the screening took place amid a horrific and catastrophic war. It was an intense screening of a film without an ending, naturally marred by anxiety and uncertainty. A Letter to David was a film of outcry, a film of ‘urgency’,” said Shoval.
“Now we are returning to the Berlinale together with David, Ariel, and the Cunio family, closing an unimaginable circle. This is a deeply moving moment that is difficult for me to put into words. Reality once again intervened, making it possible to complete the film and give it the ending we had hoped for,” he added.
“We thank the Berlinale for this moving gesture – for the opportunity to screen the film in its new version, from a different perspective: one that looks back at what was, and forward with an open heart.“
A Letter to David – The Complete Version is produced by Israeli company Green Productions, which was in Sundance this year with Tell Me Everything, and Nancy Spielberg of U.S. company Playmount Productions.
“Throughout our filming, Tom would always say ‘when’ David comes home, we will open the film and give it the right ending. He never said ‘if’. And that was the language and mindset we all desperately held on to… with hope,” said Spielberg.
“And then, after 738 days in captivity, it was time to deliver A Letter to David to its intended recipient. A few days after David’s release, his wife told him about the film. He was so incredibly emotional and touched by the fact that his story was being shared everywhere. Tom waited patiently until David told him he was emotionally prepared to watch the film. His reaction was one of immense gratitude. Knowing he was loved. Knowing his family fought without end for his release. It was one tiny step toward his healing.“