A new and deeply emotional ending is now being filmed for the award-winning documentary “A Letter to David,” directed by Tom Shoval, which follows the story of hostage survivor David Cunio and his family.
The film, which won the Ophir Award for best documentary and premiered at the Berlin Film Festival, originally traced the Cunio family’s personal journey across the world.
It aired on HOT8 and was produced by Green Productions in collaboration with Nancy Spielberg. Filming is now underway on a new conclusion, featuring Cunio himself after his release from Hamas captivity following 738 days.
During the production of the film, Shoval said he repeatedly reminded himself that the story was unfinished. “While making ‘A Letter to David,’ as we moved through the upheavals of reality, I kept reminding myself of the promise I made to Eitan Cunio,” he said. “This film was not complete until David and Ariel returned.”
Shoval said he was determined to reopen the film at any stage and film the ending the family had hoped for. “To my immense joy, that moment has arrived,” he said. “In the coming days, we will film the new ending that will close the film and complete it, a long-awaited moment in which the Cunio family and the heroes of the film are reunited. I cannot wait. It is the happiest call to action of my life.”
The new ending is expected to provide a powerful sense of closure and reunion, reflecting the transformation of a film shaped by uncertainty into one marked by return and hope.
HOT8 CEO Rinat Klein said the channel had hoped from the outset that Cunio and the other hostages would return. “From the very beginning, we wished and prayed that David and the rest of the hostages would come home and that Tom would be able to film a new ending,” she said. “This ending represents hope and humanity, and it is an exceptional artistic move that we are proud to bring to our viewers.”