MUBI CEO condemns "all acts that harm innocent civilians" in open letter on funding backlash
Last month, a group of filmmakers associated with the distributor penned their own open letter condemning a MUBI funder's ties to Israeli defense tech.
Image: MUBI logo
MUBI CEO Efe Cakarel responded to the ongoing backlash over the indie distributor’s ties to Sequoia Capital, a private equity firm that itself has ties to the Israeli defense tech industry, in a lengthy open letter. It’s a controversy that has already seen multiple organizations cut ties with the arthouse platform as well as a separate open letter signed by several prominent filmmakers—including Joshua Oppenheimer and Radu Jude—calling on the company to reconsider its partnership with the divisive funder.
Cakarel opened his letter today by thanking “everyone” for voicing their concerns before condemning the violence in Gaza as “unbelievably tragic and devastating.” “The loss of civilian lives, including thousands of children, the destruction of homes, hospitals, and cultural institutions, and the deliberate targeting of an entire population’s ability to survive and thrive are unconscionable,” he continued. “We condemn all acts that harm innocent civilians and reaffirm the right of all people to live in peace and safety. The immense suffering, displacement, and starvation of the Palestinian people is a humanitarian catastrophe that must end.”
He went on to “clarify” the company’s position on their relationship with Sequoia and Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, whom he characterized as being “at the center of much of this controversy.” “Following the investment from Sequoia, some have suggested that we are complicit in the events occurring in Gaza. These accusations are fundamentally at odds with the values we hold as individuals and as a company,” Cakarel wrote. According to him, MUBI’s profits don’t fund any other companies in Sequoia’s portfolio, including Kela, the Israeli defense tech company. Instead, he says, MUBI’s returns are used to fund “institutions such as universities, foundations, and pension funds.” Maguire, additionally, has “no involvement with our company operationally, strategically, or in any capacity,” the CEO writes. “We neither support nor endorse Shaun’s views, and we have voiced our strong concerns about his public statements directly to Sequoia.”
Going forward, the company will be taking steps to clarify their funding process. The distributor is formalizing an “Ethical Funding and Investment Policy” meant to “set clear criteria for future funding partners, establish safeguards that separate investor interests from editorial and commissioning decisions, and outline a process to review and address any concerns that arise.” It will also be forming an independent “Artists Advisory Council,” which will include “filmmakers, artists, and cultural voices from different regions alongside a human-rights due-diligence expert” to advise on the funding and investment policy, as well as a separate “Artists At Risk Fund” focused on “filmmakers working under conflict, displacement, or censorship, including Palestinian filmmakers.”
“We know some in our community will want us to go further, and others may feel we have gone too far. Our responsibility is to protect a space where filmmakers and audiences can meet. That means being transparent about how we are funded, explicit about how we protect artistic independence, and humble about what we still need to learn,” Cakarel concluded. “We will continue to champion bold and diverse voices, stay true to the values that define us, and ensure that exceptional filmmaking reaches the widest possible audience.”
In their own open letter to MUBI, the pro-Palestinian filmmakers wrote, “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. 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.” The company also faced more backlash earlier this month after filmmaker Eddie Huang accused it of shelving his documentary Vice Is Broke to make an “example” of him after he joined the chorus of artists calling for MUBI to divest from Sequoia. MUBI denied these allegations.
You can read the full text of Cakarel’s letter below (via Deadline):
To our community,
I want to thank everyone who has taken the time to reach out over the past few weeks. Your words, your questions, and your concerns have all been heard and taken to heart.
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