A LETTER TO DAVID

A LETTER TO DAVID

A LETTER TO DAVID

PR PROJECT

Trailer
Advance Press Screening Berlinale: FR, 7 Feb – 2:30 PM, CinemaxX 8, Berlin
World Premiere: tba
Screenings: tba

Director Tom Shoval and producers Nancy Spielberg, Maya Fischer, Alona Refua, and Roy Bareket are available for interviews.

A LETTER TO DAVID (Michtav Le’David) by writer-director Tom Shoval is world premiering at the International Film Festival Berlin 2025 in the Berlinale Special section. The documentary is a cinematic letter to David Cunio, held in Gaza since his abduction on October 7th.

A decade ago, David Cunio and his brother Eitan starred in Tom Shoval’s first film Youth – a feature on the strong bond between brothers, which celebrated its world premiere at Berlinale 2013. Now, the director blends past and present footage, scenes from Youth and unedited behind-the-scenes material to tell David’s story. The resulting visual journey meditates on the fragility of life and the duality of existence.

A LETTER TO DAVID raises profound questions about the inexplicable connections between life and cinema, memory and reality, and the catastrophic consequences of war. The film will not use footage from October 7th but will rely on existing materials to testify to the unimaginable.

David Cunio had been abducted along with his wife Sharon and their two baby daughters, Yuli and Emma, as well as his younger brother Ariel and his girlfriend Arbel Yehoud. The women and children have been released but David and Ariel still remain in captivity.

SYNOPSIS
A LETTER TO DAVID is a personal film, a cinematic letter from filmmaker Tom Shoval to David Cunio, who was abducted from Nir Oz to Gaza on October 7th and remains captive. In 2013 David and his brother Eitan played the lead roles in Shoval’s award-winning debut film, Youth, which centered around a kidnapping and depicted their strong bond. Shoval revisits that film’s raw footage, unedited behind-the-scenes material, and auditions, weaving them together in a documentary that serves 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. This affecting visual journey reflects 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.

Israeli filmmaker and screenwriter Tom Shoval has won rave reviews for his sharp visual style and storytelling abilities. His debut feature, Youth (2013), a social drama and thriller, premiered at the Berlinale and was, among other awards, named Best Film at the Jerusalem Film Festival. Alejandro González Iñárritu, two times Academy Award® winner, has personally chosen Shoval as his protégé and produced his feature film Shake Your Cares Away, starring Berenice Bejo which won the main award at the Jerusalem Film Festival 2021. Shoval wrote and directed a ten-episode TV series, a music drama, The Echo of Your Voice for the Israeli Kan 11 channel. The series was selected in official competition in the „Series Mania“ festival and won the prestigious Acting award. Shoval penned June Zero for director Jake Paltrow which was released in the US in 2024. He is currently in post-production on the third feature length film he wrote and directed Life without Credit, to be delivered during 2025.

A LETTER TO DAVID is produced by Green Productions, Israel, and Nancy Spielberg / Playmount Productions, USA.

74 min. / Israel, USA 2025 / documentary

 

Production Company:
Green Productions
Maya Fischer, producer, head of Film & TV
maya@greenproductions.co.il
Alona Refua, producer
Alona@greenproductions.co.il
Roy Bareket, producer
royb@greenproductions.co.il
www.greenproductions.co.il

Production Company:
Playmount Productions
Nancy Spielberg, producer
nancyspielberg@playmountproductions.com
www.playmountproductions.com

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