Mubi will not separate from Sequoia Capital, an investor with connections to the Israeli military after the dealer's top filmmakers are outraged, but the company has informed its creative: “Every suggestion that our work is connected to the financing of the war is simply wrong.”
The founder and CEO of Mubi, Efe Cakarel, answered after over 35 directors had signed an open letter to the Arthouse distributor in which he criticized his relationship with the company based in Silicon Valley. Among them are Joshua Oppenheimer, Sarah Friedland, Levan Akin, Radu Jude, Miguel Gomes as well as the Israeli filmmakers Ari Folman, Nadav Lapid and Amalia Ulman (whose Mubi-account-Sun-Countal feature was acquired by Mubi Lurker will be discontinued on August 22nd.
“Mubi's financial growth as a company is now explicitly connected to the genocide in Gaza, which implies to all of us who work with Mubi,” was the first letter. “We do not believe that an Arthouse film platform sensibly support a global community of Cinephiles and at the same time works with a company that is invested in the murder of Palestinian artists and filmmakers.”
They asked Mubi, who secured an investment of 100 million US dollars from Sequoia at the end of May, removed the company publicly due to “nurse professionals”, the Sequoia partner Andrew Reed from the board of Mubis, an ethical policy for all future Mubi investments as well as the guidelines for the cultural campaign and the cultural campaign of cultural and Cultural, which remove from the campaign of Academic and Acadocal, to the campaign of Academic and Acadbi).
After Sequoia has invested in a defense stitch startup in Kela, which was co-founded by four veterans of the Israeli secret services last year, including Omer Bar-Ilan, who worked on Israel's iron dome. Kela describes his goal as “New deployment technology talent back to the defense sector” by cyberwarfare and KI, an “urgent priority” after the attacks of October 7th.
In addition, the Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire condemned a widespread conviction for alleged Islamophobic social media contributions regarding the new democratic candidate of the Mayor of New York City, Zohran Mamdani. (Over 1,000 technology workers have written an open letter in which Sequoia Discipline Maguire was requested.)
Cakarel told the Mubi community in a letter to a letter The Hollywood reporter Thursday: “I spent these weeks in deep considerations and spoke to our team, filmmakers, producers and partners around the world. We examined how to take thoughtful and determined measures and at the same time maintain the values that have always led us.”
“What happens in the Gaza is incredibly tragic and devastating,” he continues, “we condemn all actions, harmful civilians and the right of all people, to live in peace and security. The immense suffering and starving and starvation of hunger and hunger of the Palestinian. All people.”
Cakarel makes it clear that the winnings that Mubi creates “no other companies in the Sequoia portfolio”. He says: “Our returns go to Sequoia's Limited Partners Institutions such as universities, foundations and pension funds to other companies supported by Sequoia such as Kela. A proposal that our work is connected to the financing of the war is simply untrue.”
Maguire, he says, is not a partner of funds who have invested in Mubi, and does not participate with the company operatively, strategically or in any quality. “He is not on our board, has no relationship with our team and has no role in our partnership with Sequoia. We do not support or support Shaun's views and have expressed our strong concerns about his public statements directly in Sequoia.”
As a minority investor, Sequoia has “minimal participation” to Mubi. Cakarel himself remains the biggest shareholder and keeps full control over business, but Sequoia has no supervision or authority about programs, editorial team or financial decisions.
Cakarel further explains that Mubi formals an ethical financing and investment policy published on Friday, as well as an independent art advice council, which is to be founded in September. These will help to determine “clear criteria” for future financing partners and create protective measures and to advise Mubi's ethical financing and investment policy.
Cakarel adds that Mubi is expanding his support for artists with a dedicated fund in which the company is selected by commissions, residences and restoration projects, which are managed by an independent body, with the focus of filmmakers, shifts or censorship, including Palestinian filmmaker.
The complete letter of the Mubi CEO and founder Efe Cakarel can be read below.
“To our community,
I would like to thank everyone who took the time to reach themselves in the past few weeks. Your words, your questions and your concerns were all heard and taken to heart.
I spent these weeks in deep considerations and spoke to our team, filmmakers, producers and partners all over the world. We have examined how to take thoughtful and determined measures and at the same time maintain the values that have always led us.
What happens in Gaza is incredibly tragic and devastating. The loss of civil life, including thousands of children, the destruction of houses, hospitals and cultural institutions as well as the deliberate target of the survival ability of an entire population are unconcernful. We condemn all actions that harm innocent civilians and reaffirm the right of all people, to live in peace and security. The immense suffer, the displacement and hunger of the Palestinian people are a humanitarian catastrophe that has to end. We are firmly against war and tyranny in all forms and to support the dignity and freedom of all people.
I would also like to clarify our relationship with Sequoia Capital and Shaun Maguire. After the investment of Sequoia, some suggested that we are involved in the events in the Gaza. These accusations are fundamentally in contradiction to the values that we have as individuals and as companies. The winnings that Mubi generates does not finance any other companies in the Sequoia portfolio. Our returns go to Sequoia's limited partnership institutions such as universities, foundations and pension funds to other companies supported by Sequoia such as Kela. Every suggestion that our work is associated with the financing of the war is simply wrong.
Shaun Maguire, the Sequoia partner in the center of a large part of these controversy, is not a partner of one of the funds invested in Mubi. He does not participate in our company operatively, strategically or in any function. He is not on our board, has no relationship with our team and played no role in our partnership with Sequoia. We neither support or support Shaun's views and have expressed our strong concerns about his public statements directly in Sequoia.
Finally, as a minority investor, Sequoia has a minimal participation in Mubi. As a founder and CEO, I stay the biggest shareholder and keep full control over all business and curatorial decisions. Sequoia has neither surveillance nor authority about our programs, editorial team or financial decisions.
However, we acknowledge that the way we finance our work is important, and we share initiatives that we carry out in order to ensure clarity in relation to our financing process in the future. We formalize an ethical financing and investment policy that determines clear criteria for future financing partners, protecting protective measures that separate the investor interests of editorial and commissioning decisions, and a process for reviewing and answering concerns that occur. The guideline will be published on August 15, 2025 for public advice and feedback from filmmakers, artists, audiences, festivals, civil society groups and everyone who takes care of Mubi's mission. We will check all submissions and publish the final guideline on October 15, 2025.
We also form an independent artist advisory board, which is founded by September 15, 2025. This group will include filmmakers, artists and cultural voices from various regions together with an expert for the Diligence expert of human rights. Ethical financing and investment policy will advise the final politics and continue to continue to give independent guidelines for matters in relation to Mubi's values and responsibilities.
Regardless of this, we expand our support for artists who are at risk by a dedicated fund for artists who are associated with the risk. Over the next three years, we will finance commissions, residences and restoration projects that are managed by an independent body with arm length and concentrate on filmmakers who work under conflict, shift or censorship, including Palestinian filmmakers. You can find detailed information until October 30, 2025.
We know that some in our community want us to go on, and others may have the feeling that they have gone too far. Our responsibility is to protect a room where filmmakers and audiences can meet. That means being transparent about how we are financed explicitly about how we protect artistic independence and the modest about what we still have to learn.
With regard to the future, we remain obliged to the same mission that has led us over the past 18 years: to increase the great cinema and make it accessible to the audience all over the world. We will continue to work courageous and diverse voices, the values that define us, remain loyal and make sure that the extraordinary filmmaking reaches the greatest possible audience.
Heartfelt,
Efe Cakarel, founder and CEO, Mubi. “