Chef and documentary filmmaker Eddie Huang said on Thursday that his latest doc, “Vice Is Broke,” has been shelved by distributor Mubi because he publicly criticized the company for making an investment deal with a private equity firm with ties to an Israeli defense tech contractor.
Mubi has denied Huang’s claims and says it still plans to release his film, which had been previously scheduled for release on the studio’s streaming service on August 29.
In an Instagram story post, Huang said that he had told Mubi that he would not participate in promotion of “Vice Is Broke” in protest of an investment deal made by Sequoia Capital, which also provided the key investment to Kela Technologies, an Israeli military tech company founded in the wake of the October 7 attacks.
Huang also signed a letter alongside other filmmakers who have worked with Mubi, including Joshua Oppenheimer, Sarah Friedland, Nate Fisher and Radu Jude, urging the arthouse distributor to reconsider its partnership with Sequoia Capital.
“Gaza is enduring mass civilian killings, including of journalists, artists, and film workers, alongside the widespread destruction of Palestinian cultural sites and heritage. We don’t believe an arthouse film platform can meaningfully support a global community of cinephiles while also partnering with a company invested in murdering Palestinian artists and filmmakers,” the letter read.
On Thursday, Huang said that he received a call from Mubi saying that it had “ceased all promotion” of “Vice Is Dead” and “shelved the film” while allowing him and the producers to buy back the distribution rights. The doc, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival last year, follows the rise and fall of Vice Media, which Huang was a part of when he got his own two-season TV series, “Huang’s World” on the company’s channel Viceland in 2016.
“I know I did the right thing. I’m not gonna be gaslit into thinking I didn’t. Sometimes in life, you just gotta say no,” Huang said in the post’s video.
In its own statement, Mubi denied Huang’s claims.
“MUBI has not shelved ‘Vice Is Broke.’ We are in constructive discussions with the filmmaker and producers about the film’s release on MUBI, and will share further updates as those conversations progress,” the statement read.
Mubi first announced its $100 million investment deal with Sequoia Capital last May after making a slew of acquisitions at the Cannes Film Festival, including a $24 million pickup of Lynne Ramsay’s drama “Die My Love.” Sequoia Capital’s connections to Israeli military contractors were later uncovered on social media, prompting condemnation from grassroots industry groups like Film Workers for Palestine.
“We chose to work with Sequoia because the firm, and our Sequoia Partner Andrew Reed, support MUBI’s mission and want to help us scale and bring great cinema to even more people around the world,” Mubi said in a statement published on June 14.
“Over the last several days, some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners,” the statement continued. “The beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI.”
Huang’s representatives did not immediately respond to TheWrap’s request for further comment.