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Michtav Le'David

A Letter to David
Berlinale Special 2025
© Orit Azoulay
A Letter to David is a personal cinematic letter from filmmaker Tom Shoval to David Cunio, who was taken by Hamas from the Nir Oz kibbutz on October 7, 2023, and has been held hostage in Gaza ever since. Ten years ago, David and his twin brother Eitan starred in Shoval’s award-winning debut feature film Youth (Berlinale 2013), which focused on the powerful bond between brothers and, in a tragic and unimaginable twist of fate, revolved around a kidnapping. Through unedited behind-the-scenes footage and audition tapes from that film, Shoval creates a multi-layered documentary that explores profound questions about the inexplicable connections between life and cinema, memory and reality, and the catastrophic consequences of war.
by Tom Shoval (Director, Screenplay)
with David Cunio, Eitan Cunio, Sharon Aloni-Cunio, Silvia Cunio, Luis Cunio Israel / USA 2025 Hebrew 74' Colour World premiere | Documentary form

With

  • David Cunio
  • Eitan Cunio
  • Sharon Aloni-Cunio
  • Silvia Cunio
  • Luis Cunio

Crew

Director Tom Shoval
Screenplay Tom Shoval
Cinematography Yaniv Linton
Editing Margarita Linton, Maya Kenig
Music Asher Goldschmidt
Sound Design Itzik Cohen
Producers Alona Refua, Maya Fischer, Roy Bareket, Nancy Spielberg
Executive Producers Roi Kurland, Gal Greenspan, Len Blavatnik, Emily Blavatnik, Jay Ruderman, Rinat Klein Maron, Dorit Hessel, Moshe Edery

Produced by

Green Productions

Giv'atayim, Israel

Playmount Productions

New York, USA

Photos

Hong Sangsoo

© Jeonwonsa Film Co.

Born in Seoul, South Korea in 1960, he studied at the city’s Chung-Ang University as well as at the California College of Arts and Crafts and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. Since 1996, he has written and directed 34 feature films and several shorts. His work has been selected seven times for the Berlinale Competition, most recently in 2025 with Geu jayeoni nege mworago hani (What Does That Nature Say to You).

Filmography (Filmography (selection))

2007 Haebyeon-ui yeoin (Woman on the Beach); Berlinale 2007 2008 Bam-gwa nat (Night and Day); Berlinale 2008 2013 Nugu-ui ttal-do anin haewon (Nobody's Daughter Haewon); Berlinale 2013 2017 Bamui haebyun-eoseo honja (On the Beach at Night Alone); Berlinale 2017 2018 Pul-lip-deul (Grass); Berlinale 2018 2020 Domangchin yeoja (The Woman Who Ran); Berlinale 2020 2021 Inteurodeoksyeon (Introduction); Berlinale 2021 · Dangsin-eolgul-apeseo (In Front of Your Face) 2022 So-seol-ga-ui yeong-hwa (The Novelist's Film); Berlinale 2022 · Top (Walk Up) 2023 mul-an-e-seo (in water); Berlinale 2023 · Woo-ri-ui-ha-ru (In Our Day) 2024 Yeohaengjaui pilyo (A Traveler's Needs); Berlinale 2024 · Suyoocheon (By the Stream) 2025 Geu jayeoni nege mworago hani (What Does That Nature Say to You); Berlinale 2025 2026 Geunyeoga doraon nal (The Day She Returns); Berlinale 2026

Bio- & filmography as of Berlinale 2026