Venice 2025: Jim Jarmusch “disappointed” by Mubi’s ties to Israeli military
At the Venice Film Festival, director Jim Jarmusch has said he is “disappointed” by Mubi’s ties to the Israeli military.
In June, it emerged that Mubi’s latest investor, Sequoia, is directly linked to an Israeli defence start-up. In a statement, the company defended their decision and clarified that “the beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of Mubi.”
Jarmusch’s new movie, Father Mother Sister Brother, is having distribution handled by the streaming service, and at a press conference at the Venice Film Festival, he responded to a question regarding Sequoia’s involvement in Mubi.
He explained, “My relationship with Mubi started much before that, and they were fantastic to work with on this film. I was of course disappointed and quite disconcerted by this relationship. Really, if you want to discuss it, you have to address Mubi about it. I’m not the spokesman. However, yes, I was concerned.”
The director continued: “I also have a distribution agreement with Mubi for certain territories, which I had entered into before my knowledge of this.”
Jarmusch honestly added of the economic situation as a filmmaker, “Having said that, on a personal level, I have to say I’m an independent filmmaker, and I have taken money from various sources to be able to realise my films and I consider pretty much all corporate money is dirty money.”
The filmmaker then claimed the situation regarding questionable investors is an industry-wide issue that isn’t exclusive to Mubi, adding, “If you start analysing 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. 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. It’s Mubi. You must address concerning this, and not just Mubi, but other companies as well.”
Father Mother Sister Brother, starring Cate Blanchett, Adam Driver and Tom Waits, is set to be released on December 18th, 2025. It premiered at the Venice Film Festival on August 31st and is nominated for the ‘Golden Lion’ award.
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