Former Israeli hostages David and Ariel Cunio attend Berlin screening of documentary on their Gaza captivity

Former Israeli hostages David and Ariel Cunio attended a screening of Letter to David at the Berlin International Film Festival (Berlinale) earlier this month.

Written and directed by Tom Shoval, the documentary takes the form of a cinematic letter to David Cunio, who was abducted by Hamas terrorists along with his brother from Nir Oz. Exploring memory, trauma, and loss amid war, the ending of the film was recut after the two brothers were released in October 2025, among the final 20 living hostages freed after 738 days in captivity in Gaza.

Shoval recalled that the first screening of his movie occurred before the release of the two brothers. 

“Last year, I was standing before the screening with a poster of David and Ariel. I was determined, every time I showed the film, to say that it’s an unfinished film,” Shoval told the audience at the theater. 

“And now I’m standing here. I have David in the audience, and I have Ariel in the audience,” he continued. “This is a precious, precious moment,” he emphasized.

Speaking Hebrew, David Cunio explained that the movie “is a testament to love, hope and all the people who did not give up during the two years I was in captivity.” 

“You gave me a voice when I could not be present. You were there for me,” he said.

The Cunios received a standing ovation from the audience before the movie screening. 

Nirit Bialer, an Israeli who resides in Berlin, described the movie as historic. 

“I think this is a piece of history.”

“Just seeing the family, and just following the story about this family in the media, going to the Hostages Square in Israel every time I was there in the last two years: Wow, I’m speechless,” Bialer continued.

While changing the ending of the movie, Shoval revealed in an interview that he decided to keep the first part of the movie unchanged. 

“I wanted to leave it as a time capsule, in a way, of how we perceived it back a year ago,” he explained. 

Shoval recalled that he spoke with David shortly after he was released from Gaza last October. He also visited the home of David and his wife, Sharon. 

“I came in the morning and we sat until sunset together and we talked. Even when I’m thinking about it now, I’m getting emotional, because it was really…” He paused. “You’re waiting for a moment for this for so long."

Members of the audience expressed mixed feelings of joy and concern amid growing levels of antisemitism in Germany and across the world since the Oct. 7, 2023, attack.

“The fact that David is able to see the movie makes us see the movie in a different way,” said the moviegoer Konstantin, who also watched the movie last year before David and his brother were released. 

“With the ending, it’s like a full circle, completed,” he said.

“For me, the film is about the unification of the brotherhood, and what that means to be torn apart from each other, but also to get back together,” Shoval said. “They can sit in the theater, and they can see themselves. They can see what they missed, what happened. They can project about the past, about the present. This is a power of cinema, I feel. It felt natural for me to do that: to bring them back."

Last October, Sylvia Cunio, the mother of David and Ariel, celebrated the release of her sons from captivity in Gaza to freedom in Israel. 

“My children are home!” Cunio shouted.

“My David and Ariel are here! My family is complete again; I am breathing again. They are beautiful, they are smiling and I can’t stop crying from happiness. It will take time until they return to themselves, but I rely on my wonderful children,” she said with optimism.