Following Mubi CEO Efe Cakarel’s response to criticism from the film industry about an investor with ties to the Israeli military, the number of signatories calling for the arthouse to take accountability has nearly doubled, TheWrap has learned.
In an open letter sent Aug. 16, the Mubi CEO clarified that Sequoia Capital’s $100 million investment in the indie filmmaking house does not bring the company “into alliance with genocide-profiteering,” as Film Workers for Palestine suggests.
“Following the investment from Sequoia, some have suggested that we are complicit in the events occurring in Gaza. These accusations are fundamentally at odds with the values we hold as individuals and as a company,” Cakarel shared. “Any suggestion that our work is connected to funding the war is simply untrue.”
Since the CEO’s statement, the number of signatories in a letter condemning the company has grown from 63 to 107, now including film producer Rebecca O’Brien, screenwriter Paul Laverty and French actress Ariane Labed, to name a few.
The letter from Film Workers for Palestine made three demands for Mubi, including publicly condemning Sequoia Capital for “genocide profiteering,” removing Sequoia partner Andrew Reed from its board of directors and instating an ethics policy for all future Mubi investments. The coalition added that Mubi’s ethical funding and investment policy felt more like a “PR stunt” rather than a meaningful ethical standard.
“His statement outlines the media company’s own strategy to manage a crisis of its own making,” the coalition’s response read. “In our response, we wish to communicate what a concerned international film community takes as encouraging developments in Mubi’s statement, but also what is perplexing, and what is disappointing.”
“If Mubi commits to upholding universal principles of human rights and international law by refusing to accept future partnerships or funding from individuals and corporations like Sequoia that are verifiably complicit in genocide,” it continued, “then this step should be applauded, as it will help make our industry safer for all film workers.”
Finally, the letter from Film Workers for Palestine noted that they were disappointed that Mubi and Carakel never used the word genocide in his response “instead describing what is being done to Palestinians as a ‘humanitarian catastrophe.’”
“By allowing Sequoia to artwash its direct links to war crimes, Mubi finds itself on the wrong side of genocide,” the statement concluded. “Therefore, we reiterate our call for Mubi to take accountability via the three steps outlined above.”
You can read Film Workers for Palestine’s full letter below:
On July 8, following extensive consultation with filmmakers, programmers, and industry representatives who are horrified by Mubi’s decision to accept $100 million in funding from a venture capital fund that has invested heavily in the Israeli genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, Film Workers for Palestine offered a path forward for Mubi to acknowledge and begin to repair the harm caused by accepting this financing. We asked Mubi to:
- Publicly condemn Sequoia Capital for genocide profiteering.
- Remove Sequoia Partner Andrew Reed from Mubi’s board of directors.
- Instate an ethical policy for all future Mubi investments, and respect BDS/PACBI guidelines in programming and partnerships.
These demands were restated by more than 63 Mubi-affiliated filmmakers, including Aki Kaurismäki, Amalia Ulman, Nadav Lapid, and Ari Folman in an open letter published by Variety on July 30.
So it is through the framework of these demands that film workers and audiences must evaluate Mubi Chief Executive Officer Efe Cakarel’s response, published in Variety on August 14. His statement outlines the media company’s own strategy to manage a crisis of its own making. In our response, we wish to communicate what a concerned international film community takes as encouraging developments in Mubi’s statement, but also what is perplexing, and what is disappointing.
We are encouraged that Mubi is soliciting feedback from the film community on a new ethical funding and investment policy, and we urge film workers, especially those affiliated with Mubi, to read the draft policy and send feedback to Mubi. We know that cultural production of any form involves political and ethical choices, and this too pertains to film production and distribution. If Mubi commits to upholding universal principles of human rights and international law by refusing to accept future partnerships or funding from individuals and corporations like Sequoia that are verifiably complicit in genocide, then this step should be applauded, as it will help make our industry safer for all film workers. We must ensure that Mubi commits to a meaningful ethical standard. Anything less than this is just a PR stunt.
More perplexing is Mubi’s suggestion that it will form an independent Artists Advisory Council. This gesture is confusing because a significant number of artists whose work is financed or distributed by Mubi made clear their position: Mubi must honor FWP’s call for accountability by fulfilling three clear steps. Cakarel’s statement only demonstrates a committed effort towards one of those three steps. If Mubi is already ignoring its own artists in such a crucial moment, we have to wonder, what good is an Artists Advisory Council?
We are equally perplexed by Mubi’s offer to create a fund for ‘artists at risk’. Don’t get us wrong: artists everywhere deserve more financial support. But we have to point out that the 270+ Palestinian journalists, media workers and artists who have been murdered by Sequoia-supported Israeli forces over the past 22 months will not be able to take advantage of this fund. And this invites a larger point: the irresponsible decision to partner with Sequoia can’t simply be counterbalanced by supporting a few artists.
We are disappointed that Cakarel chose to focus his condemnation of Sequoia on one partner, Shawn Maguire, as if Sequoia’s investment in military technology that is actively being used in the genocide of Palestinians in Gaza is the result of one bad apple. This shirks both Mubi’s and Sequoia’s responsibility.
Finally, we are deeply disappointed that Cakarel’s statement refused to name the specific crime of genocide—despite the clear consensus of leading experts at the International Court of Justice, the United Nations, and Amnesty International—instead describing what is being done to Palestinians as a ‘humanitarian catastrophe’. Cakarel also failed to name Israel as the perpetrator of that crime. While these omissions will no doubt haunt Cakarel in the future, in this particular moment it makes clear to the filmmaking community that Cakarel, and by extension, Mubi as a company, are unable to stand up for the values they claim to hold.
As film workers, we are obligated to describe our moment adequately and to confront its horror. As storytellers, we know the future will look back on this moment in judgment. The very least we can do is to refuse to be complicit in the horrific violence being waged against Palestinians.
Film Workers for Palestine’s demands do not emerge from a misunderstanding of Mubi’s relationship to Sequoia, or the flow of its profits – we understand those perfectly well. By allowing Sequoia to artwash its direct links to war crimes, Mubi finds itself on the wrong side of genocide. Therefore, we reiterate our call for Mubi to take accountability via the three steps outlined above.
