David L. Cunningham

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, also funded by Youth with a Mission, was shot with members from 8 Amazonian tribes. In Brazil, the film has played a part in a controversial indigenous peoples' rights campaign. While proponents of the film have made claims that it is "true", the Brazilians who "adopted" Hakani have readily admitted they can't give evidence beyond medical records, pictures and the word of Hakani's brother.

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 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.

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". 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 The 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".

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."

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.

In March 2000, Youth With A Mission students donated $14,000 in seed money toward his $14 million independent film To End All Wars (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). The film was later picked up for distribution by Goldcrest and 20th Century Fox.

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 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 game. The Path to 9/11 was nominated for 7 Emmys.

David L. Cunningham, born in Switzerland (February 24, 1971) and raised in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, 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 (2001) and the TV miniseries The Path to 9/11 (2006). Cunningham is represented by the United Talent Agency.