MUBI

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MUBI
Web address www.mubi.com
Type of site
 streaming video / social networking / film criticism
Registration Free
Available in English / French / Spanish / German / Turkish
Created by Efe Cakarel (founder)
Launched February 2007
Alexa rank
 Increase 27,214 (July 2015)[1]
Current status Active

MUBI (formerly The Auteurs) is a global film website that integrates a subscription video-on-demand service, a database, and an online magazine known as The Notebook. It has been described as an "online cinematheque",[2] and is available in over 200 territories in the world.[3] The service focuses on international arthouse cinema.

History

Originally called The Auteurs, MUBI was founded in 2007 by Turkish-born entrepreneur Efe Cakarel as a social network for cinephiles, with an interface specifically geared towards aesthetic design and simplicity.[4] Çakarel claims that he began work on the business model for MUBI after being unable to watch In the Mood for Love online while in a café in Tokyo.[5]

In May 2010, under the new name MUBI,[6] the company announced that their subscription service would be available on PlayStation 3[7] in Europe. MUBI launched their app on the PSN store in November 2010, followed by a channel on Sony’s line of Bravia internet devices in 2011.[8]

Starting in 2012, MUBI began launching a new, highly curated VOD model in select territories.[9] Instead of a large à la carte library, MUBI instead shows a continually rotating lineup of 30 films at once. A new film is added every day, and every film running for 30 days. This consumer offering was launched worldwide in February 2014.

In August 2013, MUBI released an iPad app[10] in English, French, Norwegian, German, Italian and Turkish. The app allows users to stream the selection of 30 films on their iPad or send it to Apple TV using AirPlay.

As of 2015, MUBI has over 7 million members[11] and offices in San Francisco, London, Munich and Istanbul.[12]

Partnerships

MUBI’s original partners include The Criterion Collection (whose website MUBI designed and manage), the European distributor Celluloid Dreams and Martin Scorsese's World Cinema Foundation (WCF). In 2009, the WCF[13] released restorations of films like Touki Bouki (dir. Djibril Diop Mambety, 1973), The Housemaid (dir. Kim Ki-young, 1960), Dry Summer (dir. Metin Erksan and David E. Durston, 1964), and Trances (dir. Ahmed El Maanouni, 1981).[14] During the museum tours of these films, they were made digitally available on MUBI.[15]

MUBI has since partnered with a variety of international distributors. Due to these arrangements, they have been able to show films that in some cases are not available on DVD, including films by Raya Martin, Raúl Ruiz, and Philippe Garrel.

Since 2012, MUBI has partnered with the British cinema chains like Picturehouse and Everyman,[16] offering extended trials to Picturehouse members and hosting special matinées at Everyman venues.

In 2013, MUBI collaborated with UK-based fashion and trends magazine Dazed and Confused.[17] For its 20th anniversary, Dazed and Confused curated a selection of film’s on MUBI’s UK subscription service that were all themed to fit the year “1993”. Titles included cult films like Naked by Mike Leigh, and Strawberry and Chocolate by Tomás Gutiérrez Alea and Juan Carlos Tabío.

In 2014, MUBI partnered with Cannes Film Festival’s Court Metrage competition to exclusively screen a retrospective of short films that played in previous competitions. The short films were featured on MUBI during the 67th edition of the festival and included films such as Peel by Palme d'Or winner and 2014 Jury President Jane Campion, and 2007’s Ah, Ma by Caméra D'Or winner Anthony Chen.[18] MUBI also screened a selection of Christoph Schlingensief’s films in collaboration with the Schlingensief retrospective at MoMA PS1 and the screening series at The Museum of Modern Art.

In 2015, MUBI collaborated with Berlin International Film Festival to mark the 60th anniversary of the Golden Bear for short films, bringing the festivals award-winning shorts to MUBI’s global audience. Shorts available for streaming on MUBI included 2005 Silver Bear winner ‘The Intervention’ from the Duplass Brothers, Mark and Jay Duplass, as well as 2014 Golden Bear winner As Long As Shotguns Remain by Jonathan Vinel & Caroline Poggi, which made its international debut exclusively on MUBI.[19]

MUBI continued their partnership with The Human Rights Watch Film Festival in 2015, programming films in tandem with the festival, including the worldwide online premiere of Fernand Melgar’s The Shelter[20] and 2014 entry The Mulberry House.[21]

In 2015, director Paul Thomas Anderson released his documentary Junun exclusively on MUBI.[22]

In January 2016, MUBI raised $50 million from its partner in China, Huanxi Media.[23][24][25]

MUBI Notebook

MUBI also hosts an online magazine called The Notebook, based in New York City and edited by Daniel Kasman.[26] The Notebook is updated daily on weekdays and features several regular columns, movie reviews and coverage of major film festivals. Past and present regular contributors include Kasman, Glenn Kenny, David Cairns, Adam Cook, Adrian Curry, David Phelps, Duncan Gray, Neil Young, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky and Ryland Walker Knight. Many of the writers also contribute to other publications or blogs.

Original content

In 2012, MUBI produced a short film with Cannes Palme d'Or winner Apichatpong Weerasethakul on a short film entitled Ashes, shot almost entirely using a MUBI branded LomoKino Camera.[27]

Accolades

In 2010, MUBI won a Webby Award for Best Movie and Film Website.[28] The site has been praised or endorsed by public figures ranging from critic Roger Ebert[29] to actress Sasha Grey[30] to director Rian Johnson.[31]

Device support

In addition to mubi.com, accessible using PC or Mac, MUBI is also available using:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  2. ↑ CrunchBase profile
  3. ↑ Hand-picked on-demand film provider MUBI
  4. ↑ CineVegas: Interview with Efe Cakarel
  5. ↑ A chat with Efe Cakarel of MUBI
  6. ↑ "Why did we change our name to MUBI?" via MUBI Forums
  7. ↑ MUBI now on PlayStation 3
  8. ↑ MUBI films service coming to Sony connected devices
  9. ↑ MUBI reformats via Screen Daily
  10. ↑ MUBI on iPad
  11. ↑ A close-up of MUBI
  12. ↑ MUBI: Contact
  13. ↑ Scorsese Will Distribute Restored Films via Internet
  14. ↑ Scorsese goes digital with film preservation
  15. ↑ Scorsese reveals World Cinema Foundation partnerships
  16. ↑ MUBI partners with Picturehouse
  17. ↑ Scandinavian smut and strawberry and chocolate give this week's film highlights an erotic twist
  18. ↑ Streaming curator MUBI teaming up with Cannes
  19. ↑ MUBI collaborates with Berlinale
  20. ↑ Human Rights Watch Film Festival 2015
  21. ↑ The Notebook: Noteworthy
  22. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  23. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  24. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  25. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  26. ↑ MUBI: About: Team
  27. ↑ Watch Apichatpong Weerasethakul's LomoKino Movie
  28. ↑ MUBI Webby Winner in 2010 for Movie & Films
  29. ↑ Roger Ebert on Twitter, about MUBI
  30. ↑ Sasha Grey on Facebook, about MUBI
  31. ↑ Rian Johnson on Twitter, about MUBI
  32. ↑ MUBI: Netflix for cult, classic and indie movies
  33. ↑ MUBI streaming film app now on Samsung SMART TVs
  34. ↑ MUBI online cinema app arrives on PS4, blog.playstation.com, December 12, 2014.
  35. ↑ New channel apps for Amazon's Fire TV player

External links

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