Filmmakers together with Robert Greene, Joshua Oppenheimer, Sarah Friedland, Radu Jude, Levan Akin, and Miguel Gomes are among the many greater than 35 who’ve signed an open letter from Movie Staff for Palestine calling on indie distributor Mubi to half methods with investor Sequoia Capital.
The enterprise capital agency has just lately invested in Israeli military-aligned companies, and backlash towards Mubi has been rising for the reason that investor’s ties got here to mild in June. Sequoia had simply given Mubi a $100 million funding. However since February 2024, Sequoia has additionally invested in Kela, a army tech startup that finds weapons and military-grade purposes for AI and drone tech. Sequoia itself touts the partnership with Kela on its web site as a method to “leverage Israel’s distinctive cadre of technowarriors to assist defend the Western world order.”
When reached by IndieWire, Mubi had no remark.
Since June, the backlash towards Mubi has been rising. These will not be the headlines the increasing indie distributor needs simply months after having its greatest success to this point, by steering its Cannes 2024 acquisition “The Substance” to 5 Academy Award nominations. Out of Cannes 2025, Mubi made a number of extra distinguished acquisitions, together with Oliver Hermanus’ “The Historical past of Sound,” Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind,” and Lynne Ramsay’s “Die My Love.” Mubi additionally has the forthcoming New York Movie Pageant opening night time title, Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mom Sister Brother.”
The letter from Movie Staff for Palestine, obtained by IndieWire, reads:
Pricey Mubi management,
We write as filmmakers who’ve an expert relationship to Mubi to precise our critical concern relating to Mubi’s choice to just accept $100 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, aprivate fairness agency that, since late 2023 has chosen to double down on investing in Israeli army expertise corporations with the objective of cashing in on the Gazan genocide. In 2024, Sequoia closely invested in Kela, a army tech startup based by a former senior supervisor of Palantir Israel and a number of Israeli army intelligence veterans, in addition to army drone producer Neros, and the unmanned aerial automobile manufacture, Mach Industries.
Mubi’s monetary progress as an organization is now explicitly tied to the genocide in Gaza, which implicates all of us that work with Mubi. We too imagine that cinema might be highly effective. And we all know that we are able to’t at all times management how audiences will reply to our work, and whether or not or not it would transfer and encourage them. However we are able to management how our work displays our values and commitments—ones which might be wholly ignored when our work is introduced into alliance with a genocide-profiteering non-public fairness agency.
Gaza is enduring mass civilian killings, together with of journalists, artists, and movie staff, alongside the widespread destruction of Palestinian cultural websites and heritage. We don’t imagine an arthouse movie platform can meaningfully assist a worldwide group of cinephiles whereas additionally partnering with an organization invested in murdering Palestinian artists and filmmakers. We strategy our work with look after the folks and communities they signify, and the audiences who will watch it, as a result of as artists we’re accountable to greater than the underside line. But Mubi’s choice to accomplice with Sequoia demonstrates a complete lack of accountability to the artists and communities who’ve helped the corporate flourish. We imagine that it’s our moral responsibility to do no hurt. We anticipate our companions, at a minimal, to refuse to be complicit within the horrific violence being waged towards Palestinians.
We ask you to heed the decision made by Movie Staff for Palestine and take motion that meaningfully responds to the artists and the audiences who’re such an integral a part of Mubi’s success.
The complete checklist of signatories:
Aki Kaurismäki
Radu Jude
Jessica Beshir
Joshua Oppenheimer
Robert Greene
Kazik Radwanski
Carson Lund
Michael Basta
Nate Fisher
Blake Williams
Iva Radivojevic
Nina Menkes
Ben Rivers
Bingham Bryant
Package Zauhar
Ian Edlund
Sarah Friedland
Kathleen Chalfant
Miguel Gomes
Constance Tsang
Truong Minh Quy
Deragh Campbell
Laura Huertas
John Smith
Andrea Luka Zimmerman
Cherien Dabis
Tyler Taormina
Erik Lund
Maureen Fazendeiro
Levan Akin
Courtney Stephens
Eric Baudelaire
Camilo Restrepo
Teddy Williams
Nahuel Perez Biscayart
Jussi Vatanen
Neo Sora
Sofia Bohdanowicz
Extra reporting by Ryan Lattanzio.