Dear Artist — Please read the following text, and sign it if you can sympathize. TONIGHT between 17 and 19 pm, near the opening ceremony at Potsdamer Platz 11, we will hold a vigil and quietly hold pictures of David and Ariel, speak about them, and play their favorite songs. The vigil will be under the supervision of the Berlin Police force. Please join us. For any questions you can email me at amitfri@gmail.com or whatsApp me at +972503009002.

​

Artists who have signed so far include Iris Berben, Andrea Sawatzki, Heino Ferch, Simon Verhoeven, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and many others. Also the Cunio family, including Sharon Cunio who ​was abducted herself on Oct. 7th. Please check the list below. 

​

Thank you,

Amit Friedman

"Artists for David Cunio"

​

Open Letter to the Berlin Film Festival Visitors -

As the Berlin Film Festival takes place in the city of Berlin for the 75th time, we would like to remind festival-goers that there is a captive with ties to the festival who is still held hostage inside the tunnels of Hamas somewhere in the Gaza Strip.

​

Mr. David Cunio starred in the film “The Youth” in 2012, which won a special prize in the Berlinale that year. He was a special guest of the festival and must have had fond memories of it.

​

Like hundreds of other Israelis, David was kidnapped on Oct. 7th, 2023, from his home, along with his wife and their 3-year-old twins. Their house was burned to the ground. David’s wife and children were released after 52 days in captivity. David’s brother Ariel was also kidnapped along with his girlfriend Arbel. She was recently released after 15 months of complete isolation. However, the two Cunio brothers are still held somewhere inside the tunnels of Gaza.

​

As the Film Festival starts and Berlin becomes full of life and art, we call for the immediate release of David, his brother Ariel, and the many dozens of Israeli hostages who are being held in the tunnels of Gaza. We pray that one day David would be able to visit Berlin and enjoy it again.

​

We would like to point out that Israeli as well as international hostages who have been released have reported being beaten, filmed against their will, constantly starved, isolated, locked up in cages for weeks, and subjected to sexual abuse of both male and female hostages. David’s last words to his wife before she was released were— “Shout for me, because I won’t be able to.”

On Oct. 7th 2023 at 8:28 am Ariel Cunio, David's little brother sent one last message before his house was burned and he was taken into Gaza: "We have entered a horror film".