David L. Cunningham, born in
Switzerland
). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...
(February 24, 1971) and raised in
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
Kailua-Kona is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Hawaii County, Hawaii, Hawaii County, Hawaii, United States. It is also known as Kailua (a name it shares with Kailua, Honolulu County, Hawaii, a community located o ...
, is an international filmmaker. Besides his documentary credits in more than 40 countries, Cunningham has also directed several feature films including ''
To End All Wars
''To End All Wars'' is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and was directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is based on '' Through the Valley of the Kwai'', an autobiography of Scottish captain Ernest G ...
'' (2001) and the TV miniseries ''
The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
'' (2006). Cunningham is represented by the
United Talent Agency
United Talent Agency (UTA) is a global talent agency based in Beverly Hills, California. Established in 1991, it represents artists and other professionals across the entertainment industry. , the company has more than 1,400 global employees. U ...
.
[David L. Cunningham-IMDb biography](_blank)
/ref>
Background and early work
As a child, Cunningham traveled around the world visiting orphanages, refugee camps, and many other isolated locations with his parents in their work with NGOs. His parents, Loren and Darlene Cunningham, are the founders of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and the University of the Nations
The University of the Nations (U of N) is an unaccredited Christianity, Christian university. The University of the Nations operates under the umbrella organization of the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) network.
History
The institution was founded ...
, an international, interdenominational Christian organization with campuses in over 100 countries with a special emphasis on education for the developing nations. These childhood experiences would greatly influence Cunningham's world view as a filmmaker.
Cunningham studied film and graduated from both the University of Southern California
The University of Southern California (USC, SC, or Southern Cal) is a Private university, private research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. Founded in 1880 by Robert M. Widney, it is the oldest private research university in C ...
and University of the Nations (Hawaii
Hawaii ( ; haw, Hawaii or ) is a state in the Western United States, located in the Pacific Ocean about from the U.S. mainland. It is the only U.S. state outside North America, the only state that is an archipelago, and the only stat ...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, and Santiago, Chile
Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated Regions of Chile, region, t ...
campuses).
Cunningham traveled with his father and took the first American crew to the remote Pitcairn Islands
The Pitcairn Islands (; Pitkern: '), officially the Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, is a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four isl ...
to shoot his documentary ''Pitcairn: Mutineers in Paradise''. His earlier films took him to Egypt
Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...
, Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
, and Hollywood, California
Hollywood is a neighborhood in the central region of Los Angeles, California. Its name has come to be a shorthand reference for the U.S. film industry and the people associated with it. Many notable film studios, such as Columbia Pictures, ...
. After filming parts of documentaries in over 40 countries, Cunningham made his feature film debut with '' Beyond Paradise''. The film was a critical and commercial hit in the Pacific Region playing for three months in theatres in Hawaii.
In March 2000, Youth With A Mission students donated $14,000 in seed money toward his $14 million independent film ''To End All Wars
''To End All Wars'' is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and was directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is based on '' Through the Valley of the Kwai'', an autobiography of Scottish captain Ernest G ...
'' (p 176) Shot in Hawaii, Thailand, and Scotland, the film tells the true story of WWII allied prisoners in a POW camp in Thailand who secretly form a “jungle university” in the camp morgue. Starring Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer William Sutherland (born 21 December 1966) is a British-Canadian actor and musician. He is best known for his starring role as Jack Bauer in the Fox drama series '' 24'' (2001–2010, 2014), for which he won an Emmy Award, a Golden Glo ...
and Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle (born 14 April 1961) is a Scottish actor. His film work includes '' Trainspotting'' (1996), ''The Full Monty'' (1997), ''The World Is Not Enough'' (1999), ''Angela's Ashes'' (1999), '' The Beach'' (2000), ''28 Weeks Later'' (20 ...
, it performed notably well at film festivals including Telluride Film Festival
The Telluride Film Festival (TFF) is a film festival held annually in Telluride, Colorado during Labor Day weekend (the first Monday in September). The 49th edition took place on September 2 -6, 2022.
History
First held on 30 August 1974, th ...
, Toronto International Film Festival
The Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF, often stylized as tiff) is one of the largest publicly attended film festivals in the world, attracting over 480,000 people annually. Since its founding in 1976, TIFF has grown to become a permane ...
, Heartland Film Festival
The Heartland International Film Festival is a film festival held each October in Indianapolis, Indiana. The festival was first held in 1992, its goal is to "inspire filmmaker
Filmmaking (film production) is the process by which a motion pictu ...
, Hawaii International Film Festival
The Hawai'i International Film Festival (HIFF) is an annual film festival held in the United States state of Hawaii.
HIFF has a focus on Asian-Pacific cinema, education, and the work of new and emerging filmmakers. HIFF’s primary festival is h ...
, and Mill Valley Film Festival
The Mill Valley Film Festival is an annual American film festival founded in 1977.
History
In October 1977, Mark Fishkin, Rita Cahill and Lois Cole organized a three-day film festival. It featured three film tributes, Francis Ford Coppola's ''T ...
). The film was later picked up for distribution by Goldcrest and 20th Century Fox.[Cunningham's IMDb bio](_blank)
/ref>
Since that time, Cunningham has made a number of movies, including the telefilm
A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...
''The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
''. He shot the film ''After...'' under Moscow's Red Square
Red Square ( rus, Красная площадь, Krasnaya ploshchad', ˈkrasnəjə ˈploɕːətʲ) is one of the oldest and largest squares in Moscow, the capital of Russia. Owing to its historical significance and the adjacent historical build ...
in the secret tunnels built by Joseph Stalin
Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin (born Ioseb Besarionis dze Jughashvili; – 5 March 1953) was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet political leader who led the Soviet Union from 1924 until his death in 1953. He held power as General Secreta ...
.
Cunningham is directing and producing ''The Wind & the Reckoning
''The Wind & the Reckoning'' is an American Hawaiian Western historical drama film produced and directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is "a story inspired by real-life events" that are known as the Koolau Rebellion in Hawaii, particularly ...
'', a fictionalized account of the Koolau Rebellion in Hawaii.
Cunningham is a member of the Travelers' Century Club
The Travelers' Century Club, or TCC, is a club for people who have visited 100 or more of the world's countries and territories.
The organization was founded in California in 1954 and now has more than 1,400 members throughout the world. The clu ...
, whose members can document visits to over 100 countries, and of the Directors Guild of America
The Directors Guild of America (DGA) is an entertainment guild that represents the interests of film and television directors in the United States motion picture industry and abroad. Founded as the Screen Directors Guild in 1936, the group merge ...
.
The Path to 9/11
Cunningham directed the ABC miniseries
A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
''The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
'', which dramatized terrorist activities and U.S. government responses from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing
The 1993 World Trade Center bombing was a terrorist attack on the World Trade Center in New York City, U.S., carried out on February 26, 1993, when a van bomb detonated below the North Tower of the complex. The urea nitrate–hydrogen gas en ...
through the events of 9/11. The film was controversial for its misrepresentation of events and people as well as last minute editing before the broadcast. Despite ABC spending $40 million on the project, ''The Path to 9/11'' was beat in the ratings by an NFL
The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the major ...
game. ''The Path to 9/11'' was nominated for 7 Emmys.
''The Path to 9/11'' was criticized by the Clintons for its inaccuracy in the handling of terrorist Osama bin Laden
Osama bin Mohammed bin Awad bin Laden (10 March 1957 – 2 May 2011) was a Saudi-born extremist militant who founded al-Qaeda and served as its leader from 1988 until Killing of Osama bin Laden, his death in 2011. Ideologically a Pan-Islamism ...
. The docu-drama was praised by conservative writer Davis Hanson as being "a well-crafted dramatic interpretation", and condemned by critics for scenes which portrayed events they claim never occurred, and supported a story line which could lead viewers to incorrect conclusions.
Official promotions of the film made varying claims about its factual basis: Fox TV on Sept 6, 2006, quoted the producers as saying the show was based "solely and completely on the 9/11 Commission report." However, On ABC's ''Path to 9/11'' blog, Cunningham emphasized: "This is a movie or more specifically a docudrama. Meaning, it is a narrative movie based on facts and dramatized with actors."
Max Blumenthal
Max Blumenthal (born December 18, 1977) is an American journalist, author and blogger who is the editor of ''The Grayzone'' website, which is known for spreading conspiracy theories and engaging in denial of atrocities committed by dictatorial ...
reported in ''The Nation
''The Nation'' is an American liberal biweekly magazine that covers political and cultural news, opinion, and analysis. It was founded on July 6, 1865, as a successor to William Lloyd Garrison's '' The Liberator'', an abolitionist newspaper tha ...
'' that Cunningham's ''Path to 9/11'' had been heavily promoted by right wing activist David Horowitz
David Joel Horowitz (born January 10, 1939) is an American conservative writer. He is a founder and president of the right-wing David Horowitz Freedom Center (DHFC); editor of the Center's website ''FrontPage Magazine''; and director of Disco ...
and the conservative Liberty Film Festival
The Liberty Film Festival was an American film festival founded by independent filmmakers Jason Apuzzo and Govindini Murty in July 2004 and was active until 2008, but the efforts of the organization continue via ''Libertas Film Magazine.''
Histo ...
and that ABC CEO David Iger had initiated a last-minute investigation and edit of the film. ''The New York Times'' reported that Mr. Platt [the producer of ''Path to 9/11'' and ''Hope Hartman'', a spokeswoman for ABC, said "the political and religious affiliations of the two men (Cunningham and Nowrasteh, the writer) had nothing to do with and did not influence the mini-series in any way."[Edward Wyatt, New York Times](_blank)
/ref> Nowrasteh defended Cunningham in an ''OpinionJournal.com'' column, arguing that criticism of the Cunningham's association with his father's Christian mission was akin to McCarthyism, in which "the merest hint of a connection to communism sufficed to inspire dark accusations."
To date, ABC has not released the mini-series to DVD. In 2007, Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone (born September 15, 1946) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. Stone won an Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay as writer of '' Midnight Express'' (1978), and wrote the gangster film remake '' Sc ...
said while he's "not vouching for its accuracy," he thinks it is "a dangerous precedent, to allow a movie to be buried". A 2008 documentary by John Ziegler and producer David Bossie
David Norman Bossie (born November 1, 1965) is an American political activism, political activist. Since 2000, he has been president and chairman of conservative advocacy group Citizens United (organization), Citizens United and in 2016, Bossie w ...
of Citizens United
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
premiered a documentary co-produced, written and directed by Ziegler entitled ''Blocking The Path to 9/11''. Jeffrey Ressner of ''The Politico
''Politico'' (stylized in all caps), known originally as ''The Politico'', is an American, German-owned political journalism newspaper company based in Arlington County, Virginia, that covers politics and policy in the United States and intern ...
'', wrote ''Blocking 'The Path to 9/11'' mirrored ''The Path to 9/11'' because it "raises even more questions and adds its own set of disconnected dots to this broadcasting dilemma".
The Film Institute
The Film Institute (TFI), a "non-profit association geared toward educating filmmakers from the developing world, linking like-minded filmmakers, and focusing resources and talent for social change", was established by Cunningham and several University of the Nations
The University of the Nations (U of N) is an unaccredited Christianity, Christian university. The University of the Nations operates under the umbrella organization of the Youth With A Mission (YWAM) network.
History
The institution was founded ...
alumni in 2004. Though ABC asserted that the network itself was the source of funding for ''The Path to 9/11'', TFI became embroiled in the controversy when several internet bloggers claimed it funded or influenced the movie.
According to TFI member Mark Harris' speech at a Latin American Youth With A Mission conference: "One goal of TFI is to fast-track U of N School of Digital Film interns, placing them within the film industry, so that they can begin to tell the stories that need to be told and help make a difference through film". Harris also stated that he was a volunteer coordinating TFI's interns at the time. He rebutted the assertion that TFI initiated or funded The Path to 9/11.
Hakani
In 2008, Cunningham directed Hakani: A Survivor's Story telling the story of an 8-year-old boy's rescue of his little sister ("Hakani") who, because of birth defects, was to be put to death by their tribe in the Amazon. The film was shot with members from 8 Amazonian tribes. In Brazil, the film has played a part in a controversial indigenous peoples' rights campaign.
In 2008, the Brazilian government officials said "the missionaries are exaggerating and exploiting the issue to justify their attempts to convert Indians to Christianity". In 2009, Survival International
Survival International is a human rights organisation formed in 1969, a London based charity that campaigns for the rights of indigenous and/or tribal peoples and uncontacted peoples.
The organisation's campaigns generally focus on tribal peopl ...
released a statement that film is "faked, that the earth covering the children's faces is actually chocolate cake, and that the film's claim that infanticide among Brazilian Indians is widespread is false." Survival International has pointed out that the Hakani film is being used by Youth with a Mission to facilitate their ministries in the area.
Filmography
* Running for Grace (2018)
* Hakani: A Survivor's Story (2008)
* The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising (2007)
* The Path to 9/11
''The Path to 9/11'' is a two-part miniseries that aired in the United States on ABC television on September 10–11, 2006 and in other countries. The film dramatizes the 1993 World Trade Center bombing in New York City and the events lead ...
(2006) (TV)
* ''After...'' (2006)
* Little House on the Prairie
The ''Little House on the Prairie'' books is a series of American children's novels written by Laura Ingalls Wilder (b. Laura Elizabeth Ingalls). The stories are based on her childhood and adolescence in the Midwestern United States, American M ...
(2004) (mini) TV Series
* To End All Wars
''To End All Wars'' is a 2001 war film starring Robert Carlyle, Kiefer Sutherland and Sakae Kimura and was directed by David L. Cunningham. The film is based on '' Through the Valley of the Kwai'', an autobiography of Scottish captain Ernest G ...
(2001)
* The Dream Center: Hope for the Inner City (1999)
* Beyond Paradise (1998)
* Baja 1000
The Baja 1000 is an annual Mexican off-road motorsport race held on the Baja California Peninsula. It is one of the most prestigious off-road races in the world, having attracted competitors from six continents. The race was founded by Ed Pearl ...
(1996)
* Walkabout Australia (1996) (V)
* Pacific Mercy Ships (1995)
* Passport to the World (1993)
* Target World (1992)
* The Pitcairn Story: Mutineers in Paradise (1991) David L. Cunningham-IMDb Filmography
/ref>
References
External links
*
University of the Nations School of Digital Film
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, David L.
1971 births
Living people
People from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii
USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni
Film directors from Hawaii