Aki Kaurismäki and 35 Filmmakers Urge Mubi to End Partnership with Investor Linked to Israeli Military
According to Cinemadrame News Agency, More than thirty filmmakers have signed an open letter urging the streaming platform and studio Mubi to reconsider its partnership with an investor linked to the Israeli military. Aki Kaurismäki (director of Fallen Leaves), Radu Jude, Miguel Gomes, and Joshua Oppenheimer are among those calling on the platform not only to end its relationship with Sequoia Capital but also to publicly condemn it.
The letter comes shortly after Sequoia invested $100 million in Mubi. Sequoia is a backer of the startup Kela, which was founded in July 2024 by four former Israeli intelligence officers. Kela is currently assisting the Israeli military in developing an AI-based platform. In addition, Sequoia employee Shaun Maguire has been accused of Islamophobia on social media, with more than a thousand tech professionals signing a separate letter demanding disciplinary action.
The filmmakers’ letter states: “We believe an arthouse cinema platform cannot offer meaningful support to the global cinephile community while partnering with a company complicit in the killing of Palestinian artists and filmmakers.”
In recent weeks, the Centre for Contemporary Arts Glasgow, Cineteca Nacional in Mexico, and Cinemateca de Bogotá in Colombia have all ended their partnerships with the Mubi Fest film festival. Last week, the Valdivia Film Festival in Chile announced that it would not screen any films from Mubi Studio.
