Jim Jarmusch said he was “disappointed and disconcerted” to learn that Mubi, the arthouse distributor and streamer that co-produced “Father Mother Sister Brother,” had accepted $100 million in funding from Sequoia Capital, the Silicon Valley venture firm with a stake in an Israeli defense-tech startup.
“My relationship with Mubi started much before that, and they were fantastic to work with on the film,” Jarmusch told reporters at the Venice Film Festival, where the film premiered Sunday. “Yes, I was concerned. I was disappointed and disconcerted by this relationship. If you want to discuss it, you have to address Mubi. I’m not the spokesman.”
The association has drawn protests from artists who accuse Sequoia of “genocide profiteering” in Gaza. Dozens of filmmakers with ties to Mubi have signed an open letter urging the company to reconsider its partnership with Sequoia and publicly condemn its investment in a defense-tech startup founded by Israeli intelligence units after the terror attacks of Oct. 7.
Mubi’s founder has pushed back, saying that “any suggestion that our work is connected to funding the war is simply untrue.”
Jarmusch said his priority remains making films, even if the financing can be morally complicated.
“I’m an independent filmmaker and I’ve taken money from various sources to fund my films,” he said. “All corporate money is dirty. If you start analyzing each of these film companies and their financing structures, you’re going to find a lot of dirt. You can avoid it and not make films at all. But films are how I carry what I like to say.”
He added, “One thing I don’t like is putting the onus of the explanation on us, the artists. It’s not us.”
Cast member Indya Moore also addressed the controversy, saying there is “an incredible amount of creative warfare and resource warfare behind the scenes” of Hollywood.
“People are trying to find out how to work in a capacity that’s ethical and not enabling. I think the kinds of due diligence that people are trying to do is a developing process,” Moore said.
“Father Mother Sister Brother” brings Jarmusch to Venice for the first time since “Coffee & Cigarettes” in 2003. The triptych explores relationships between adult children and their parents across three stories set in New Jersey, Dublin and Paris. The ensemble cast includes Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver, Vicky Krieps, Mayim Bialik, Charlotte Rampling, Moore and Luka Sabbat.
