The founder and CEO of Mubi, Efe Cakarel, has written an emotional letter to the filmmaking community in response to the counter reaction around the company's new investor, Sequoia Capital, and his connections to the Israeli military.
Mubi, an Arthouse distributor and producer with the mission to sign independent votes in the cinema, has been shot from Sequoia since securing an investment of $ 100 million in May. It turns out that the portfolio of the Valley, which is based in Silicon Valley, comprises the defense tech startup Kela-Das by four veteran Israeli intelligence agencies in response to the terrorist attacks of October 7th with big players such as Apple, Zoom and Airbnb.
63 Directors, including Nadav Lapid, Ari Folman and Aki Kaurismäki, signed a letter at the beginning of this month, in which he criticized Mubi because of his relationship with Sequoia and claimed that Mubi's financial growth was “tied to the genocide in Gaza”, and it is that the Protroveric profile of Sequoia partners was accused.
Cakarel, who was born in Turkey and studied in the United States, began his letter with despair about the “incredibly tragic and devastating” events in Gaza – the “loss of civil life, including thousands of children, the destruction of houses, hospitals and cultural institutions and the deliberate target group of the whole population to survive and survive”.
“The immense suffering, the expulsion 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,” wrote Cakarel.
He then denied allegations that Mubi “is involved in the events occurring in Gaza” and explains that “the profits that Mubi generates no other companies in the portfolio of Sequoia”.
“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,” he wrote. “Every suggestion that our work is associated with the financing of the war is simply wrong.”
Cakarel also picked out Shaun Maguire and said he was not a partner of one of the funds invested in Mubi. “
“He does not have an operational, strategic or capacity of our company. He is not on our board, has no relationship with our team and has no role in our partnership with Sequoia,” wrote Cakarel and added that Mubi “Neither support or support of Shauns” and “Our strong concerns about his public statements, which were directly expressed to Sequoia,”.
Since Sequoia is a minority shareholder, it has “no supervision or no authority about our programs, editorial or financial decisions,” he continued.
Cakarel has also taken several steps in order to include the introduction of ethical financing and an investment policy and an artist advisory board, to which filmmakers and “security measures) and security measures that separate the interests of investors from editorial and commissioning decisions”.
Finally, Mubi creates an artist who will carry out the fund fund commissions, residences and restoration projects by “filmmakers under conflicts, shift or censorship, including Palestinian filmmakers” in the next three years.
While it has been dealing with the controversy around Sequoia in recent months, Mubi has been celebrated as a port for international storytellers and subversive filmmakers since its foundation in 2007. Last year, his international film festival in Turkey was banned due to concerns about local censorship after one of his films, Luca Guadagninos “Queer”. Cakarel said diversity During its cover interview this spring, the company was not known to make political statements because it was prepared to let his curation of films speak for itself.
Over the years, Mubi has published a number of films from Iranian, Palestinian and Turkish filmmakers, including Jafar Panahi, Mohammad Rasoulof, Saeed Roustayi, Fatih Akin, Hany Abu-Assad, Haifaa al-Mansour and Elia Suleiman. Mubi also distributed “No other Land”, the Oscar winner, which was led by a team of Palestinian and Israeli filmmakers in large European areas such as Italy and Germany.
Mubi was also welcomed by indie directors and producers to prefer theater publications and to give them full transparency towards the income. Mubi rose last year after Universal left the project shortly before the Cannes Film Festival and it led to Universal brought in the project in Cannes shortly before the film festival and over 83 million US dollars worldwide. Later this month, Mubi will visit the Venice Film Festival with several expected films, including Paolo Sorrentino's “La Grazia” on the opening evening.
Read Cakarel's full letter 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 one Ethical financing and investment policy This will determine clear criteria for future financing partners, define protective measures that separate the investor interests of editorial and commissioning decisions, and a process for reviewing and interpreting concerns that occur. The guideline will be published on August 15, 2025 for the public consultation to invite feedback from filmmakers, artists, audiences, festivals, civil class groups and everyone who takes care of Mubis Mission. We will check all submissions and publish the final guideline on October 15, 2025.
We also form an independent Artist Advisory Boardto be set up by September 15, 2025. This group includes filmmakers, artists and cultural voices from various regions together with an expert in 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 Artists at risk funds. 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. This 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