Mubi was once “The Auteurs”, a tiny arthouse stream for the niche stuff that Efe Çakarel couldn’t find online. It expanded into a charming little arthouse cinema streamer, and has recently ballooned into a proper distributor with successes like The Substance; Successes that attracted eyes from all around the world, including investment companies like Sequoia Capital.
In Spring 2025, Mubi accepted a $100 million cash from the investment company. To them, it may have appeared to be a harmless buy-in. To the untrained eye, Sequoia is not unlike any other investor. They’ve even partnered with big names like Reddit, Instagram and a hundred others. What Mubi didn’t know (or perhaps didn’t care to know) is that Sequoia is supporting Israel in the Gaza war.
Sequoia Capital’s Investment In Kela
Sequoia is not the first the be invested in the Gaza war (Vanguard & Blackrock own the majority of defense manufacturers involved in the war). But, they are the first to tarnish Mubi’s indie arthouse brand.
They’ve done so by the fact that Sequoia has invested 10 million in Israeli-defense tech startup Kela (who’s slogan is “battle-tested tech for modern warfare“), and raised a further 60 million during a funding round. To Mubi fans, it’s a investment that flies in the face of the indie brand’s support of international culture.
Filmmakers Push Back
Within weeks, an open letter signed by more than 60 filmmakers, including Radu Jude, Joshua Oppenheimer, and Aki Kaurismäki, called on Mubi to return the money, sever ties with Sequoia, and adopt an ethical investment policy. That number has since grown to more than 100 signatories1. Festivals and venues followed suit, with events in Glasgow and Mexico canceling Mubi-branded showcases.
Some directors claim the company has quietly retaliated. Eddie Huang had his own controversy surrounding the release of his documentary Vice Is Broke which climaxed with a now-deleted video by Huang:
In his post, Huang says that he received a call from Mubi president Jason Ropell, informing him that “they’ve ceased all promotion, they’ve shelved the film, and you and the producers can buy it back from us if you want, but otherwise, nobody’s gonna see the film.” Huang posits that the move was an effort to make “an example” of him after he protested Mubi’s investment from Sequoia and decided to sit out the company’s promotion of his film.
That said, the documentary has since released on Mubi, Prime Video, and Apple TV.
Jarmusch Weighs In
At the Venice Film Festival, Jim Jarmusch — whose latest film Father Mother Sister Brother is being distributed by Mubi — didn’t shy away from the issue. The director said he was “disappointed and disconcerted” by Mubi’s ties to Sequoia, though he stressed his deal with the streamer predated the investment. Jarmusch added that “pretty much all corporate money is dirty money,” placing responsibility on companies rather than filmmakers.
“You can avoid it and not make films at all. But films are how I carry what I like to say. I’m concerned, but one thing I don’t like is putting the onus of the explanation of us, the artists. It’s not us.”
Mubi’s Response
In mid-June, 2025, Mubi responded with a boilerplate corporate response that fans took to mean “we don’t care”. In it, Mubi insists that its independence is intact, and that despite taking money from Sequoia, it does not impact the views or goals of Mubi.
Some, like Jarmusch, have accepted this answer and continued to work with Mubi, while others have boycotted them. Additionally, Mubi has not been added to the Palestine Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions list (BDS).
Who Else Has Sequoia Partnered With?
Sequoia has it’s fingers in endless digital pies. Zoom, Zapier, and Notion are a few not mentioned here. Sequoia’s involvement in Kela remains it’s most notorious, but Mubi is not it’s most influential investment, that falls to those in the picture above.
So Should You Cancel Your Mubi Subscription?
Many already have, calling Sequoia’s investment “blood money”. Filmmakers have boycotted and the general goodwill of the company has fallen dramatically. After all, Mubi’s accepting money from a war financier feels like a betrayal of the platform’s indie ethos. That said, Jarmusch’s suggestion of blaming companies not artists rings true.
In your humble writer’s opinion, it’s a matter of taste. If Mubi continues to grow, Sequoia will get a return on investment that they could use to invest in war again, but at the same time Mubi will be able to support filmmakers.
On one final note, there is actually one Palestinian film on Mubi US, making it a touch more pro-Palestine then Netflix and Hulu (who have zero), but below The Criterion Channel (who has three). 2
- https://variety.com/2025/film/global/mubi-criticized-filmmakers-investor-israeli-military-1236472911/ ↩︎
- Thank you to ApathyMonger on Reddit for helping check Mubi’s US selection. ↩︎