Mubi CEO on Pushing Into Production and That Huge Cannes Haul
Arthouse streamer and distributor Mubi is planning to work on not more than 12 movies annually but is already up to 15 movies this year after a hot streak picking up a slew of Cannes Film Festival buzz titles – and the Venice Film Festival has not even started yet, CEO and founder Efe Cakarel told SXSW London on Friday in an energetic appearance that had the crowd engaged late in a busy week.
Cakarel shared his love of the cinema-going experience early in his appearance, saying, 'I really focus on theatrical,' and 'I am very committed to these films getting as wide a release in cinemas as possible.'
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Last year, Mubi released The Substance globally, he highlighted. 'It turns out distribution is not rocket science,' Cakarel concluded, adding that the firm is launching theatrical in Italy next.
Mubi was on a streak at Cannes, picking up rights in select markets to competition titles The Secret Agent from writer and director Kleber Mendonça Filho, Sentimental Value, Joachim Trier's latest feature, Mascha Schilinski's Sound of Falling (In Die Sonne Schauen), and Lynne Ramsay's Jennifer Lawrence-Robert Pattinson starrer Die My Love. The latter deal came with a $24 million price tag, the biggest known and announced during the festival. He joked that his team is 'freaking out' after Mubi's strong Cannes run – in a good way.
Production is also a big new area for the company after Mubi debuted its first production at Cannes, namely Kelly Reichardt's The Mastermind. 'We want to produce more' great films and series, he shared.
Mubi is, for example, a co-producer on the new Jim Jarmusch movie, Father Mother Sister Brother, which stars Cate Blanchett, Vicky Krieps, Adam Driver, Mayim Bialik, Tom Waits, Charlotte Rampling, Indya Moore, and Luka Sabbat. Cakarel mentioned on Friday that it is set to screen at Venice.
Cakarel also shared on Friday that Mubi was 'profitable' by 2020. With 60 percent first-quarter 2020 subscriber growth amid the COVID pandemic, the company experienced strong cash flow growth, which allowed Mubi to invest and grow further.
The company's headcount has also grown to 400 people in 15 countries, he explained.
The company has increasingly picked up movies not only for streaming but also for theatrical distribution. Mubi chief content officer Jason Ropell highlighted the role of streaming in the indie film space last year, saying: 'The streaming component of the ecosystem has actually broadened the audience for multiple kinds of film, including independent film. There's a generation of viewers, of customers, of cinephiles that have been exposed to films, which they would not have but for that technology, for the access to streaming.'Last year, Mubi acquired The Substance at Cannes, prepping the title for what would go on to be an Oscar run for Coralie Fargeat's body horror thriller.
SXSW London runs through June 7. Penske Media, the parent company of The Hollywood Reporter, is the majority stakeholder of SXSW.
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