Jason Ropell Outlines Growth Ambitions For Mubi As He & ‘Past Lives’ Producer Christine Vachon Reflect On State Of Independent Market: “With Disruption Comes Great Opportunity” — Karlovy Vary
deadline.com“With disruption comes great opportunity,” Mubi Chief Content Officer Jason Ropell told delegates at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival on Tuesday. “It brings evolution and I think, right now, optimism in the business is warranted.” Speaking at a rare onstage interview at KVIFF’s International Industry Insights section alongside indie stalwart and Killer Films co-founder Christine Vachon, Ropell broke down Mubi’s current business model whilst also touching on the company’s ambitions for growth in the independent and auteur space, which include theatrical distribution in addition to releasing titles on its own streaming platform. “Mubi is a modern, globally-scaled studio and has all the components that a modern studio has from development through production to distribution – theatrical distribution to a platform, which we own – and sales thereafter, as well as foreign sales through The Match Factory,” said Ropell. (Mubi acquired international sales agent The Match Factory in 2022).
This structure, he said, gives Mubi “the entire ecosystem” and enables the company to have “multiple ways of saying yes to being involved in a project we are interested in.” Earlier this week, Mubi announced it would be co-financing Mia Hansen-Løve’s next project If Love Should Die, with The Match Factory handling international sales.
Last week Mubi picked up multiple key territories for Cannes Competition entry Grand Tourfrom Portuguese filmmaker Miguel Gomes, which won the Best Director prize at the festival.
During Cannes, Mubi also acquired Cannes Competition black and white drama The Girl With The Needle. Ropell added that Mubi plans “to scale” its business to meet the growing demand across the world for independent
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