Filmmakers including Robert GreeneJoshua Oppenheimer, Sarah Friedland, Radu Jude, Levan Akin and Miguel Gomes are among the more than 35 who have drawn an open letter from Film Workers for Palestine prompts indie distributor Badly Sharing roads with investors Sequoia Capital.
Venture Capital company has recently invested in Israeli military-oriented companies and backlash against Mubi has grown since the investor’s band arrived in June. Sequoia had just given Mubi an investment of $ 100 million. But since February 2024, Sequoia has also invested in Kela, a military technology start that finds weapons and military -class applications for AI and Drone Tech. Sequoia herself output the partnership with Kela on her website as a way to “exploit Israel’s unique cadre of techno -scarrers to defend the Western world order.”
When Mubi was reached by IndieWire, Mubi had no comment.
Since June, the relapse against Mubi has grown. These are not the headlines that the expanding indie distributor wants just a few months after having its greatest success so far, by controlling his Cannes 2024 acquisition “The Substance” to five Oscar nominations. Out of Cannes 2025 Mubi made several more prominent acquisitions, including Oliver Hermanus “The History of Sound”, Kelly Reichardt’s “The Mastermind” and Lynne Ramsay’s “Die My Love.” Mubi also has the upcoming New York Film Festival title, Jim Jarmusch’s “Father Mother Sister Brother.”
The letter from film worker for Palestine, obtained by Indieview, reads:
Dear Mubi leadership,
We write as filmmakers who have a professional relationship with Mubi to express our serious concern about Mubi’s decision to accept $ 100 million in financing from Sequoia Capital, Aprivate Equity company, which since the end of 2023 has chosen to double investments in Israeli military technology companies with the goal of serving from Gazan. In 2024, Sequoia invested heavily in Kela, a military technology start founded by a former senior manager for Palantir Israel and several Israeli military intelligence veterans, as well as military Drone manufacturer Neros and unmanned air car manufacture, Mach Industries.
Mubi’s economic growth as a company is now explicitly bound to the Gaza genocide, which implies all of us who work with Mubi. We also believe that cinema can be powerful. And we know that we cannot always control how the audience will respond to our work and whether it will move and inspire them or not. But we can control how our work reflects our values and commitments-they are completely ignored when our work is conducted in alliance with a genocide profit private equity company.
Gaza maintains mass civil murders, including journalists, artists and film workers, along with the widespread destruction of Palestinian cultural sites and heritage. We do not believe that an arthouse -film platform can meaningfully support a global community of Cinephiles while collaborating with a company that invests in murderous Palestinian artists and filmmakers. We are approaching our work with care for the people and communities they represent, and the audience who will look at it, because as artists we are responsible for more than in the end. Nevertheless, Mubi’s decision to collaborate with Sequoia shows a total lack of responsibility for artists and communities that have helped the company to flourish. We believe it is our ethical obligation not to do any harm. We expect our partners to least refuse to be complicated in the terrible violence against Palestinians.
We ask you to follow the conversation from film workers for Palestine and take action that meaningfully responds to the artists and the audience, which is such an integral part of Mubi’s success.
The full list of signers:
Aki Kaurismäki
To Juda’s work
Jessica Beshir
Joshua Oppenheimer
Robert Greene
Kazik Radwanski
Carson Lund
Michael enough
Nate Fisher
Blake Williams
IVA Radivojevic
Nina Menkes
Ben Rivers
Bingham Bryant
Kit Zauhar
Ian Edlund
Sarah Friedland
Kathleen calfent
Miguel Gomes
Constance Tsang
Truong Minh Quy
Deragh Campbell
Laura Huertas
John Smith
Andrea Luka Zimmerman
Cherie GE
Tyler Taormina
Erik Lund
Maureen Farmer
Levan me
Courtney Stephens
Eric Baudelaire
Camilo Restrepo
Teddy Williams
Nahuel Perez Biscayart
Jussi Vatanen
Neo sister
Sofia Bohdanowicz
Further reporting of Ryan Lattanzio.
