David L. Cunningham

{{short description|American film director}} {{Infobox person | name = David L. Cunningham | image =  | alt =  | caption = | birth_name =  | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1971|02|24}} | birth_place = United States | death_date =  | death_place = | other_names = | occupation = Film director, documentarian | father = | mother = | years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = }}

'''David L. Cunningham''' (born February 24, 1971) is an American documentarian and filmmaker. Besides his documentary credits in more than 40 countries, Cunningham has also directed several feature films including ''To End All Wars'' (2001) and the TV miniseries ''The Path to 9/11'' (2006). Cunningham is represented by the United Talent Agency.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

==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 with the specific purpose of introducing people to Jesus. His parents, Loren and Darlene Cunningham, ordained ministers in the Pentecostal Assemblies of God denomination,<ref>Cunningham, Loren. ''Christian Heroes: Then & Now'', p. 163</ref> are the founders of Youth With A Mission (YWAM) and the University of the Nations,<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.uofnkona.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=control.main&sectionID=182 |title=University of the Nations – accreditation |access-date=2006-09-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080523123328/http://www.uofnkona.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=control.main&sectionID=182 |archive-date=2008-05-23 |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Cunningham studied film and graduated from both the University of Southern California and University of the Nations (Hawaii, Amsterdam, and Santiago, Chile campuses).

Cunningham traveled with his father and took the first American crew to the remote Pitcairn Islands to shoot his documentary ''Pitcairn: Mutineers in Paradise''. His earlier films took him to Egypt, Australia, and Hollywood, California.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://starbulletin.com/2000/05/22/features/story2.html |title=Honolulu Star-Bulletin Features |access-date=2007-04-17 |archive-date=2007-05-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070522204824/http://starbulletin.com/2000/05/22/features/story2.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> After filming parts of documentaries in over 40 countries,{{citation needed|date=February 2018}} Cunningham made his feature film debut with ''Beyond Paradise''.<ref>[http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/beyond_paradise/ Beyond Paradise – Movie Reviews, Trailers, Pictures – Rotten Tomatoes]</ref> The film was a critical and commercial hit in the Pacific Region playing for three months in theatres in Hawaii.<ref>[https://movies.nytimes.com/movie/174153/Beyond-Paradise/overview/ NY Times Review of "Beyond Paradise"]{{dead link|date=April 2021|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}}</ref>

In March 2000, Youth With A Mission students donated $14,000 in seed money toward his $14 million independent film ''To End All Wars''<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://starbulletin.com/2001/10/29/features/story1.html |title=Honolulu Star-Bulletin Features |access-date=2007-04-17 |archive-date=2005-04-21 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050421085520/http://www.starbulletin.com/2001/10/29/features/story1.html |url-status=dead }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ywamdtscentre.com/docs/Resources/Principles%20Made%20Practical.pdf#search=%22david%20cunningham%22 |title=Principles Made Practical |website=ywamdtscentre.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718150413/http://www.ywamdtscentre.com/docs/Resources/Principles%20Made%20Practical.pdf |archive-date=2011-07-18}}</ref> (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 and Robert Carlyle, it performed notably well at film festivals including Telluride Film Festival, Toronto International Film Festival, Heartland Film Festival, Hawaii International Film Festival, and Mill Valley Film Festival).<ref>[http://www.boxofficeprophets.com/tickermaster/listing.cfm?tmID=639/ The Box Office Prophets-"To End All Wars"]</ref> The film was later picked up for distribution by Goldcrest and 20th Century Fox.

Since that time, Cunningham has made a number of movies, including the telefilm ''The Path to 9/11''. He shot the film ''After...'' under Moscow's Red Square in the secret tunnels built by Joseph Stalin.<ref>[http://www.myspace.com/themovieafter The movie''After'' ]</ref>

Cunningham is directing and producing ''The Wind & the Reckoning'', a fictionalized account of the Koolau Rebellion in Hawaii.<ref>{{Cite web|last=LIST|first=FILMS|title=FILM REVIEW - The Wind and the Reckoning|url=https://films-list.com/film/the-wind-and-the-reckoning/|access-date=2021-05-02|website=films-list.com|language=en}}</ref>

Cunningham is a member of the Travelers' Century Club, whose members can document visits to over 100 countries, and of the Directors Guild of America.<ref>[http://www.dga.org/index2.php3?chg= Directors Guild of America] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110513233938/http://www.dga.org/index2.php3?chg= |date=2011-05-13 }}</ref>

==The Path to 9/11==

Cunningham directed the ABC miniseries ''The Path to 9/11'', which dramatized terrorist activities and U.S. government responses from the 1993 World Trade Center bombing through the events of 9/11. The film was controversial for its misrepresentation of events and people<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/06/us/06path.html | work=The New York Times | title=9/11 Miniseries Is Criticized as Inaccurate and Biased | first=Jesse | last=McKinley | date=September 6, 2006 | accessdate=May 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/09/08/AR2006090801949.html| newspaper=The Washington Post | title=ABC's Twisted 'Path to 9/11' | date=September 8, 2006 | accessdate=May 25, 2010}}</ref> as well as last minute editing before the broadcast.<ref>According to the LA Times, "ABC conceded to last-minute edits." {{cite news| url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2008-aug-15-et-path15-story.html | work=Los Angeles Times | title=9/11 film doc says Clintons directed from left wing | date=Aug 15, 2008 | access-date=May 25, 2010}}</ref> Despite ABC spending $40 million on the project, ''The Path to 9/11'' was beat in the ratings by an NFL game.<ref>The numbers: only 13 million viewers watched 'Path to 9/11', compared with 20.7 million watching the NFL{{cite news| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5337380.stm | work=BBC | title=9/11 drama loses out in ratings | date=12 September 2006 | accessdate=May 25, 2010}}</ref> ''The Path to 9/11'' was nominated for 7 Emmys.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.buzzsugar.com/411572/ |title=Buzz Sugar: "Announcing the Primetime Emmy Nominees" |access-date=2009-01-16 |archive-date=2009-08-29 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829131349/http://www.buzzsugar.com/411572/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>

''The Path to 9/11'' was criticized by the Clintons for its inaccuracy in the handling of terrorist Osama bin Laden.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/08/abc.movie/index.html/ CNN.com: "Clinton Blasts 9/11 Film"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090122020643/http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/08/abc.movie/index.html |date=2009-01-22 }}</ref> The docu-drama was praised by conservative writer Davis Hanson as being "a well-crafted dramatic interpretation",<ref>http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2006/09/the_path_to_911a_postmortem.html,Victor Davis Hanson</ref> 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.<ref>[http://www.cnn.com/2006/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/08/abc.movie/ "Clinton Blasts 9/11 Film, Amid Report of Changes"], CNN, September 8, 2006</ref><ref>[https://www.today.com/popculture/path-9-11-tells-sad-riveting-tale-wbna14702957 "''Path to 9/11'' Tells a Sad, Riveting Tale"], MSNBC, September 12, 2006.</ref>

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."<ref>[http://thinkprogress.org/2006/09/06/abc-fox Think Progress » ABC Tells Fox That Path to 9/11 ‘Is Based Solely and Completely on the 9/11 Commission Report’]</ref> 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."<ref>[http://blogs.abc.com/thepathto911/ Path to 9/11 Blog]{{dead link|date=May 2026|bot=medic}}{{cbignore|bot=medic}} by David L. Cunningham.</ref>

Max Blumenthal reported in ''The Nation'' that Cunningham's ''Path to 9/11'' had been heavily promoted by right wing activist David Horowitz and the conservative Liberty Film Festival and that ABC CEO David Iger had initiated a last-minute investigation and edit of the film.<ref>[http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060925/path_to_911 "ABC 9/11 Docudrama's Right-Wing Roots"], Max Blumenthal, [http://www.thenation.com TheNation.com], September 11, 2006</ref> ''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."<ref name="times">[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/12/arts/television/12path.html Edward Wyatt, New York Times]</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."<ref>[http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008958 "The Path to Hysteria" @ opinionjournal.com], Cyrus Nowrasteh, September 18, 2006.</ref>

To date, ABC has not released the mini-series to DVD. In 2007, Oliver Stone said while he's "not vouching for its accuracy," he thinks it is "a dangerous precedent, to allow a movie to be buried".<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/la-et-path5sep05,0,1537274.story | work=Los Angeles Times | title=Is Clinton's candidacy blocking 'Path to 9/11'? | date=September 5, 2007 | accessdate=May 25, 2010}}</ref> A 2008 documentary by John Ziegler and producer David Bossie of Citizens United premiered a documentary co-produced, written and directed by Ziegler entitled ''Blocking The Path to 9/11''. Jeffrey Ressner of ''Politico'', 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".<ref>{{cite news | title=Who was blocking 'The Path to 9/11'?| author=Jeffrey Ressner | url=https://www.politico.com/story/2008/08/who-was-blocking-the-path-to-9-11-012671 | format=A40 | publisher=Politico | date=2008-08-21 | access-date=2012-07-14}}</ref>

==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 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.<ref>[http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2006/09/path_to_911_and.html "The TV Guy" Orlandosentinel.com] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090829124251/http://blogs.orlandosentinel.com/entertainment_tv_tvblog/2006/09/path_to_911_and.html |date=2009-08-29 }}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.markandkrista.com/ |title=Home |website=markandkrista.com}}</ref>

==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.<ref>[http://www.huffingtonpost.com/mark-joseph/brazilian-government-repo_b_110360.html/ HuffPost article on Hakani]</ref>

In 2008, the Brazilian government officials said "the missionaries are exaggerating and exploiting the issue to justify their attempts to convert Indians to Christianity".<ref>{{cite news| url=https://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/story?id=5861778&page=1| work=ABC News | title=Missionaries Accuse Indians of Killing Babies | date=Sep 23, 2008 | accessdate=May 25, 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/news/world/2008-09-22-infanticide_N.htm | work=USA Today | title=Missionaries accuse Brazil of allowing infanticide | date=September 23, 2008 | accessdate=May 1, 2010}}</ref> In 2009, Survival International released a statement that the 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."<ref>{{cite news| url=http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-38604620090319 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160306050034/http://in.reuters.com/article/idINIndia-38604620090319 | url-status=dead | archive-date=March 6, 2016 | work=Reuters| title=Amazon Indian infanticide video called 'faked' | date=Mar 20, 2009| accessdate=May 1, 2010}}</ref><ref name="survival-international.org">{{Cite web|url=http://www.survival-international.org/about/hakani|title = Hakani - Survival International}}</ref> Survival International has pointed out that the Hakani film is being used by Youth with a Mission to facilitate their ministries in the area.<ref name="survival-international.org" />

==Filmography== * ''The Pitcairn Story: Mutineers in Paradise'' (1991) * ''Target World'' (1992) * ''Passport to the World'' (1993) * ''Pacific Mercy Ships'' (1995) * ''Walkabout Australia'' (1996) (V) * ''Baja 1000'' (1996) * ''Beyond Paradise'' (1998) * ''The Dream Center: Hope for the Inner City'' (1999) * ''To End All Wars'' (2001) * ''Little House on the Prairie'' (2004) (miniseries) * ''After...'' (2006) * ''The Path to 9/11'' (2006) (TV) * ''The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising'' (2007) * ''Hakani: A Survivor's Story'' (2008) * ''Running for Grace'' (2018) * ''The Wind & the Reckoning'' (2022)

==References== {{reflist}}

==External links== *{{IMDb name |id=0192289|name=David L. Cunningham}} *[https://web.archive.org/web/20080316223524/http://www.uofnkona.edu/index.cfm?fuseaction=control.main&sectionID=137 University of the Nations School of Digital Film]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cunningham, David L.}} Category:1971 births Category:Living people Category:People from Kailua-Kona, Hawaii Category:USC School of Cinematic Arts alumni Category:Film directors from Hawaii Category:American documentary film directors Category:American television directors