The Valdivia film festival in Chile has decided not to screen any films managed by MUBI distribution company. The decision, the Herald was able to confirm, was due to the company’s ties to venture capital firm Sequoia Capital, on account of its funding of an Israeli military tech firm.

This is the first time a film festival has declined to include films managed by MUBI for political reasons.

“Due to particular issues of international politics, this year we decided not to screen films from the MUBI platform. This is related to its funding from Sequoia Capital, which is directly connected to the genocide in Palestine,” festival director Raúl Camargo Borquez said during an interview with Radio Universidad de Chile. The Valdivia film festival will run from October 13 to 19 in the Chilean south. 

MUBI is a UK-based streaming platform showcasing a wide range of international films. The company also distributes independent cinema in several territories, including the United States, the UK, Latin America, and several European countries. 

The platform made headlines in 2024 when it picked up distribution rights for The Substance, a gore-infused feminist critique of beauty standards that became a darling at the awards season after its premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. 

Last May, the company acquired distribution rights for many territories on some high-profile titles that also debuted at Cannes. These included Palm d’Or winner It Was Just an Accident, by Iranian filmmaker Jafar Panahi, and Die My Love, based on a novel by Argentine writer Ariana Harwicz and starring Jennifer Lawrence.

MUBI and Sequoia Capital’s ties

MUBI faced  backlash earlier this year after the Financial Times reported they had received a US$100 million funding round from Sequoia. According to their website, the investment firm has also funded Kela Technologies, an Israeli defense-tech startup created and launched in the wake of Hamas’ October 7 attacks. 

A recent Business Insider profile of Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, one of Silicon Valley’s more outspoken advocates of U.S. President Donald Trump and Israel, also reported that Kela’s sensors and AI systems have been deployed in Gaza.

On June 14, MUBI posted a statement addressing the controversy over its connection with Sequoia. “Over the last several days, some members of our community have commented on the decision to work with Sequoia given their investment in Israeli companies and the personal opinions expressed by one of their partners,” the post read in an apparent reference to Maguire. 

“The beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of MUBI,” they added.

Camargo explained on the radio that the Valdivia festival team had a meeting with MUBI staff and told them explicitly that they should seek other alternatives to screen their films in Chile. According to the festival director, he told them there were other festivals that would “happily” screen their movies, a fact he acknowledged made their decision easier.

“We separate MUBI as a company from its workers, who are just as affected as the cinephile community for the decision that drove a company with such an exquisite catalog to receive a type of funding that makes it absolutely questionable,” he said.

Earlier this month, and in the wake of several calls to boycott the platform, MUBI cancelled the MUBI Fest 2025 scheduled to run from July 4 to 6 in Mexico City’s National Cinematheque. The platform released a statement explaining that the cancellation was due to concern over “security issues.” 

“We are still committed to creating spaces where voices can be heard both in and out of the screen, and we unconditionally support the principles of freedom of expression that drive both cinema and protests,” the statement added.  

The Herald reached out to MUBI for comment but did not receive a response by time of writing.