Mubi has received fresh push back over a recent $100 million investment it received from Silicon Valley-based private equity firm Sequoia Capital, over the latter’s backing of a number of Israeli defence-tech start-ups.
Filmmakers with connections to Mubi – including Nate Fisher, Sarah Friedland, Cherien Dabis, Tyler Taormina, Aki Kaurismäki, Radu Jude and Joshua Oppenheimer – have signed a letter calling on the arthouse distributor and streamer to reconsider its relationship with the investment firm.
The signatories do not include the directors of Mubi’s recent high-profile Cannes acquisitions such as Lynne Ramsay (Die, My Love), Mascha Schilinski (Sound of Falling), Oliver Hermanus (The History of Sound) and Kelly Reichardt (The Mastermind) and Akinola Davies Jr. (My Father’s Shadow).
In the statement, first reported by Variety, the filmmakers highlighted Sequoia Capital’s growing investments in Israeli military technology companies.
It cited Kela Technologies, which was founded in the wake of the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Southern Israel, in which more than 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken hostage. Others referenced included military drone manufacturer, Neros, and the unmanned aerial vehicle manufacture, Mach Industries.
The filmmakers suggested these investments tied Mubi to the ongoing violence in Gaza, where more than 60,000 people have been killed in Israel’s retaliatory military campaign and mission to retrieve the remaining Israeli hostages, and the population is now on the brink of starvation.
“Mubi’s financial growth as a company is now explicitly tied to the genocide in Gaza, which implicates all of us that work with Mubi,” read the letter. Israel has consistently denied genocide accusations, with a spokesperson this week calling the claims “baseless” because it is not acting with “intent.”
The statement continued: “We too believe that cinema can be powerful. And we know that we can’t always control how audiences will respond to our work, and whether or not it will move and inspire them. But we can control how our work reflects our values and commitments – ones that are wholly ignored when our work is brought into alliance with a genocide-profiteering private equity firm.”
“Gaza is enduring mass civilian killings, including of journalists, artists, and film workers, alongside the widespread destruction of Palestinian cultural sites and heritage. We don’t believe an arthouse film platform can meaningfully support a global community of cinephiles while also partnering with a company invested in murdering Palestinian artists and filmmakers,” it continued.
The artists said they approached their work with care for the people and communities they represented in order to be accountable to “more than the bottom line.”
“Mubi’s decision to partner with Sequoia demonstrates a total lack of accountability to the artists and communities who have helped the company flourish. We believe that it is our ethical duty to do no harm. We expect our partners, at a minimum, to refuse to be complicit in the horrific violence being waged against Palestinians.”
“We ask you to heed the call made by Film Workers for Palestine and take action that meaningfully responds to the artists and the audiences who are such an integral part of Mubi’s success,” concluded the letter.
The letter did not comment directly on whether the filmmakers would continue to work with Mubi in the future, if it retains its connections with Sequoia.
Further signatories of included Jessica Beshir, Robert Greene, Kazik Radwanski, Carson Lund, Michael Basta, Blake Williams, Iva Radivojevic, Ben Rivers, Bingham Bryant, Kit Zauhar, Ian Edlund, Sarah Friedland, Kathleen Chalfant, Miguel Gomes, Constance Tsang, Truong Minh Quy, Deragh Campbell, Laura Huertas, John Smith, Andrea Luka Zimmerman, Erik Lund, Maureen Fazendeiro, Levan Akin, Courtney Stephens, Eric Baudelaire, Camilo Restrepo, Teddy Williams, Nahuel Perez Biscayart, Jussi Vatanen, Neo Sora and Sofia Bohdanowicz.
Deadline has contacted Mubi for a response to the letter and on whether it will impact their future relationship with the signatories.
When controversy over the Sequoia Capital investment first broke in June, Mubi said in a statement posted on Instagram that it had entered into the partnership “to accelerate” its “mission of delivering bold and visionary films to global audiences”.
It added that Sequoia’s investments did “not reflect the views of Mubi.” “We take the feedback from our community very seriously, and are steadfast in remaining an independent founder-led company,” it concluded.
