Israeli director Tom Shoval is back in Berlin with “A Letter to David,” which is his way of processing the fact that his friend David Cunio – who starred in his first feature “Youth” – is one of the more than 250 hostages kidnapped by Hamas on Oct.

David Cunio and his twin brother Eitan were at the Berlin Film Festival in 2013 as the stars of Israeli director Tom Shoval’s first feature Youth which world premiered to acclaim in Panorama. The pair,

For Tom Shoval, making the film "A Letter to David" was a way to ensure that his friend David Cunio was not just a face on a kidnapped poster after the Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, during which over 250 hostages were taken to Gaza by militants.

Nancy Spielberg (Steven Spielberg's sister) produced writer-director Tom Shoval's portrait of David Cunio, who starred in his 2013 film 'Youth' and was taken hostage on October 7th, 2023.

Tom Shoval’s documentary, Letter to David, an intimate and heartbreaking look at David Cunio, a hostage kidnapped by Hamas from Kibbutz Nir Oz on October 7, premiered on Friday at the 75th Berlinale, the Berlin International Film Festival, and the director spoke of his hope that David would soon return to his family.

The Berlin film festival premiered a documentary about an Israeli hostage held by Hamas yesterday as it seeks to move on from controversy over its stance on

Tom Shoval’s documentary A Letter To David, which is playing in Berlinale Special, marks a return to the festival for the Israeli filmmaker - but not in a circumstance he could have imagined when his first feature, Youth, played in Panorama back in 2013.