During the upcoming national day of protest and disruption planned for Tuesday, calling for an end to the war and the release of the hostages, Lev Cinemas will host a screening of “Letter to David,” filmmaker Tom Shoval’s cinematic letter to hostage brothers David Cunio and Ariel Cunio.
The screening will take place on August 26 at 7:10 p.m. at Lev Tel Aviv Cinemas, followed by a conversation with Shoval.
The film, currently nominated for the Ophir Award for Best Documentary, premiered at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Shoval has described the film as a “kind of letter in my head” to David Cunio, the onetime co-star of Shoval’s 2013 film, “Youth,” who was taken hostage on October 7, 2023, from his Nir Oz home.
Cunio was taken hostage with his wife and young twin daughters, who were all released in November 2023. He and his younger brother, Ariel Cunio, who was taken hostage separately from Kibbutz Nir Oz, are still being held captive in Gaza.
Cunio and his twin brother, Eitan Cunio, played the leading roles in Shoval’s award-winning 2013 debut.
“Youth,” a feature film, explored the intense and unfiltered bond between two brothers, with the story of a kidnapping at its center.
In “Letter to David,” Shoval revisited that film, its raw footage, unused behind-the-scenes documentation, auditions and screen tests.
He reconstructed them into a unique documentary that is a personal letter and painful portrait of the new reality for the Cunio family and their kibbutz that has been scarred by war.
Tickets for the film are reduced to NIS 20 (NIS 10 for seniors). All proceeds will be donated to the Hostages Families Forum.