Efe Cakarel

Source: Courtesy of MUBI

Efe Cakarel

Mubi has shuffled its leadership structure and streamlined into four content operations as chief content officer Jason Ropell segues into a senior advisory role and The Match Factory is integrated into the company.

The Match Factory will continue to operate as Mubi’s international sales business in those territories where Mubi does not distribute directly. Michael Weber will lead production at Mubi and the company envisions “it is natural” that more films from The Match Factory will become Mubi films and vice versa.

It is understood that approximately 12 staffers have left and the intention is to replace many of those roles. Mubi currently runs a staff of around 400 in 14 countries including the United States.

Ropell will be moving away from his day-to-day remit and will work more closely with founder and CEO Efe Cakarel. His title will be senior advisor strategy & content, office of The CEO. Mubi said it will not hire a new chief content officer. 

Arianna Bocco, the former IFC Films president who was named Mubi’s SVP of global distribution nearly a year ago, will add oversight of acquisitions to her purview. Her expanded role was announced internally last week.

The previous acquisitions team of Cate Kane and Kevin Chan are on the move. Kane, who served as co-head of global acquisitions since 2020, is joining Film4 in January as senior commissioning executive, while Chan is also believed to be departing.

Chiara Maranon and Uriel Kuzniecki will lead programming and licensing, and Danny Kasman will continue to lead publishing.

Announcing the moves on Friday (December 19), Mubi said it is “bullish on the future and committed to bringing “more independent cinema and important filmmaking voices to the world” at a time when industry-wide consolidation remained a challenge to independent filmmaking.

The company has been growing its presence and was arguably the story of Cannes. It premiered several titles in Competition and acquired a number of other films in selection led by a $24m deal on Lynne Ramsay’s Die, My Love starring lead actress awards hopeful Jennifer Lawrence.

Mubi faced a backlash this year related to a $100m investment from Sequoia Capital after it emerged that the investor had ties to Israeli defence contractor Kela at a time when the war in Gaza has drawn fierce condemnation. Mubi said “the beliefs of individual investors do not reflect the views of Mubi” and Cakarel said in a letter in August that Mubi profits did not return to Kela.

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