Mubi founder and CEO Efe Cakarel has penned a letter to the filmmaking community in response to the backlash surrounding the company’s new investor, Sequoia Capital, and its ties to Israeli military.

Mubi, an arthouse distributor and producer that champions independent voices in cinema, has been under fire since securing $100 million investment from Sequoia in May.

Thee portfolio of the capital company includes defense-tech startup Kela– founded by four veterans of Israeli intelligence units in response to the terror attacks of Oct. 7–alongside players such as Apple, Zoom and Airbnb.

Sixty-three directors, including Nadav Lapid, Ari Folman and Aki Kaurismäki, signed a letter criticizing Mubi for its relationship with Sequoia. They claim that Mubi’s financial growth is “tied to the genocide in Gaza” and highlight the controversial profile of Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire, accused of Islamophobic social media posts.

“The immense suffering, displacement, and starvation of Palestinian people is humanitarian catastrophe that must end. We stand firmly against war and tyranny in all forms, and in support of the dignity and freedom of all people,” Cakarel wrote.

He denied accusations that Mubi is “complicit in the events occurring in Gaza,” and “the profits Mubi generates do not fund any other companies in Sequoia’s portfolio.”

“Our returns go to Sequoia’s limited partners — universities, foundations and pension funds — not to other Sequoia-backed businesses such as Kela,” he wrote. “Any suggestion that our work is connected to funding the war is simply untrue.”

“He has no involvement with our company operationally, strategically, or in any capacity. He is not on our board, has no relationship with our team and played no role in our partnership with Sequoia,” Cakarel wrote, adding that Mubi “neither support nor endorse Shaun’s views” and “have voiced our strong concerns about his public statements directly to Sequoia.”

Since Sequoia is a minority shareholder, it “has no oversight or authority over our programming, editorial or financial decisions,” he continued.

Mubi is creating an Artists at Risk fund, which will fund commissions, residencies and restoration projects from “filmmakers working under conflict, displacement or censorship, including Palestinian filmmakers.”

While it’s grappled with the controversy over Sequoia, Mubi has served since its 2007 founding as platfoirm for international storytellers and subversive filmmakers.

Last year, it canceled its international film festival in Turkey over concerns about local censorship after one its films, Guadagnino’s Queer, was banned.

However, Cakarel said that the company wasn’t known for making political statements as it preferred to let its curation of films speak for itself