10 ms·

How a small streaming site became the Netflix for indie film

158 points by antr 11y ago

thirdsun 11y ago
I used Mubi a long time a go, but somehow forgot about them - probably due to their limited selection in Germany. The service itself always impressed me though - a service obviously run by true enthusiasts and aficionados. Glad to see they are still around.
dethstar 11y ago
I really like Mubi, I just don't keep it all year like I do with Netflix because of their one film a day model.
reubenmorais 11y ago
Sounds like Netflix needs to take a lesson from Valve and let its customers do the curation for them.
- rocky1138 11y ago
  I've been really impressed with Netflix's automatic suggestion algorithm. It frequently guesses my rating correctly and shows me movies that I do actually find interesting.
  - protonfish 11y ago
    I have had a completely different experience. I like well-made movies, and am less picky about genre. It seems like if I rate a movie well, they suggest a poor movie of the same basic formula.
  - MichaelGG 11y ago
    Wow. They routinely recommend bad for me. I even tried going along with a lot of their suggestions. Spent a day trying that out. It sucked. Now they show up in my "Continue Watching" list which requires going into preferences to remove. Now, Netflix doesn't even pretend to recommend good stuff. The "Recommended For You" sort gives me items that Netflix itself suggests I will rate 1-star. I must sort by rating to see the better stuff. And even then, most of the top items I've already seen. I cancelled. I used to pay Netflix (before streaming) while not receiving any DVDs. The recommendations were good enough for me to decide what to download. Not so much now.
    - rocky1138 11y ago
      Maybe the algorithm is different here in Canada? I wonder why we're getting so different of results.
- 2xlbuds 11y ago
  Greenlight has widely been seen as a failure in the gaming community though. Steam users have been sold on hype and greenlit games only to get unfinished buggy messes all too often.
  - reubenmorais 11y ago
    Greenlight is not what I was referring to. http://store.steampowered.com/curators/ http://store.steampowered.com/curators/
wfn 11y ago
MUBI's curatorial approach stands in sharp contrast to major streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, which have amassed large libraries and deliver personalized recommendations based on algorithms. MUBI's human-curated selection takes a lot of that choice away, and Cakarel thinks viewers are better off for it. "Think about your own Netflix experience and how frustrating it is — how long it takes you to find a film that you want to watch," says Cakarel. "It doesn't work. It categorically doesn't work." While I get what they're saying, I still wonder if it wouldn't be interesting to try out some personal recommendation algorithms/systems on their user ratings dataset. (After reviewing their T&C, I've actually crawled through their data (more like, their backend exposes neat API endpoints that are not part of any formal API (officially they don't have one)..) some time ago, and am still curious to just try out some stuff from scikit-learn. Maybe someone has thought/done the same? When contacted, the MUBI team (IIRC) basically said they're not interested in that as of now.
- Arnt 11y ago
  Please describe some neat things you'd like to do.
  - wfn 11y ago
    For starters, I'd like to * index every piece of data properly, for easy reference to (a) films, (b) user ratings (per user per film) and (c) users (seeing the latter as simply sets of ratings on films) * then run a few collaborative recommendation algorithms on the indexed dataset - basically taking things from the scikit-learn python package and running them * then see (naively and heuristically) whether any recommendations for myself and for a friend who's interested in this make sense * then do a more proper machine learning dataset split into "teaching dataset" vs. "testing dataset", to see if any of those algos can predict what films a particular user would be interested in watching and how much they'd like them * and then to move onto something which may (I think) provide insights for this particular dataset, such as e.g. attempting to classify users into clusters, to see if there are any more homogeneous clusters of users, with some users acting as connecting "bridges" between clusters; I'd start with the kNN algorithm here, for example * it would also be interesting to attempt to classify films as well, and see whether some curious non-intuitive/non-stereotypical clusters emerge (something beyond well-known genre categories, etc.) I'm not sure what I'd be looking at in particular, but basically this assumes that we really do trust the collective ratings of users. The latter may be very problematic - for starters, I'm quite sure it'd be difficult to attempt to "normalize" the different ways users vote (4/5 rating is one thing for one person and another for a different person - of course collective averages may help here, and that's one of the things with this MUBI community in particular that drew my initial attention: overall (subjectively and with bias) it seems that the overall community rates films quite responsibly and with a degree of (let's say) signal.) * visualize classified clusters, include sliders which alter parameters for classification (including kNN's simple "n", but beyond that, too), etc.
danso 11y ago
> MUBI has spent years cultivating that audience with a selection of artsy, obscure films that don't usually appear on Netflix or Hulu. (It originally launched under the name "The Auteurs," before rebranding in 2010 as MUBI — a play on accented pronunciations of "movie," and after a city in Nigeria.) On Monday, the titles available on the company's US site included Bernardo Bertolucci's 1970 classic The Conformist, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, by Chan-wook Park. Occasionally, it features more mainstream movies like Sin City, currently available on the French site, though the majority are far more obscure. A new title is added every day as another drops out, meaning that only 30 films are available for streaming at any given time. In defense of Netflix (not that the "Goliath" in this comparison needs defenders)...but "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" has been available on streaming Netflix for, as far as I remember, the time that I've been a customer, which was basically when streaming started. "Mr. Vengeance" is the first in "The Vengeance Trilogy" that includes the more well-known "Oldboy" [1] and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance"...I think the entire trilogy has been on Netflix for years (including the regrettable American remake of Oldboy, but can't fault Netflix for having it...) Even as Netflix's blockbuster selection has faded (with the ending of the Starz deal, and in comparison to HBONow)...I've never had a complaint about their selection of the most well-known and recent foreign indies. "Let the Right One In", "The Hunt", "Force Majeure", The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy...though sure, they could always have more (and obviously, I don't know enough of the foreign scene to know all of the gems that they don't have). But I imagine the problem for Netflix isn't that they do a shitty job of curation...but that the deals end up not being financially valuable to them, as it was in the Starz case. Ang Lee's movies ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Lust, Caution") were long-time selections, but I've just noticed they are no longer available for streaming. edit: if you liked Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is definitely worth checking out. But whereas Oldboy was entertaining on top of being emotionally extreme...I'd argue "Mr. Vengeance" is much more of an artistic achievement, but at the cost of being "entertaining". In fact, I get a little ill at the thought of re-watching it, even though I own it on DVD. [1] http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oldboy-2005 http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oldboy-2005 -- Ebert's review here is so glowing that not only did it get me to seek out Oldboy, but it changed the way I think of foreign movies in comparison to Hollywood.
- Steko 11y ago
smazga 11y ago
Why won't they (mubi.com) tell me how much it costs? No prices listed, and clicking links that seem like they would take me to that info send me to the 'subscribe now' nag dialog. That's close-tab-and-forget-about-it behavior.
- navait 11y ago
  It's 4.99/Mo which it clearly says after the sign up dialog.
  - malkia 11y ago
    $3.99/month if subscribed for 12 months.
  - detaro 11y ago
    AFTER the sign up is a bit late...
    - Arnt 11y ago
      Maybe. Until quite recently there was a forum and such things, which you could use for free. Ninetysome per cent of the users never paid anything, and surprisingly many didn't know that Mubi offered any paid service. But yes, nowadays I think it would make more sense to make the price tag for the paid service more visible.
      - detaro 11y ago
        Yes, giving the website a quick glance now it looks like a web shop/streaming portal: products and user reviews and I wouldn't even have expected you could create free account, much less it to be useful.
- xrstf 11y ago
  There is an "About MUBI" link on the top left. A popup with a cleverly disguised slideshow will open, telling you about the price of 4,99€ per month.
niels_olson 11y ago
I subscribed to MUBI for a while, and just never watched the films that were available. Some are quite risque for a dad with two pre-teens at home. But overall, I just don't watch movies at home. There's always something else to do. I hope they stay in business long enough for me to get to the point that I have time to participate.
bazzargh 11y ago
I used to use mubi back in the Auteurs days but it was frustrating that the selection was so much smaller in the UK than the US (I recall it being around 10% of the films; anything that had had a mainstream cinema release was missing). They still seem to have that restriction, but they've taken the 'show me what's available in my area' filter away. I can understand why they'd do that, but it feels a bit off being asked to sign up for a service where the films advertised on the front page aren't available.
- lemiffe 11y ago
  Exactly the same issue, kind of fell off my radar as a result of that, now I'm curious to see the selection.
pmontra 11y ago
"This film is not currently playing on MUBI but 30 other great films are. See what's NOW SHOWING" Why? That was for a movie that I could pay to watch but they don't let me watch it. I wonder how they could be in business. Still they are so it's probably a sensible choice that I fail to understand.
- Arnt 11y ago
  The niche is something like: A quickly browsed list that includes no teevee series, no films called Foo 2, nothing offensively bad, but some good films, some classics, some that are just easy on the eyes. It'll never be mainstream, but it's great for middlebrow teevee haters like myself.
- dasil003 11y ago
  We recognize the confusion this causes in the UI, but indeed there is a valid reason for it. Since the beginning we have streamed globally, but a different selection in each country. Since we have editorial and social features on the site as well, we can't just have pages appear and disappear from the site like Netflix does. All these pages exist as connective tissue between users in different countries (which becomes even more important with links shared on social networks). Even if social features and film discussions don't interest you, clicking Add to Watchlist tells us you want to watch that and helps in our acquisitions and programming process.
  - pmontra 11y ago
    Thanks for answering. So the movie I wanted to see is currently available in another country or has been available in mine but not now. The UI could be tweaked to explain that and not (negatively) surprise customers but it seems that you already know that. Probably you have plans to improve it. Your approach is similar to TV, a list of programs to choose from but not the full catalog. Given these terms I'm not sure I'll ever be a customer but this business model seems to be serving you well so I can hardly criticize it.
dasil003 11y ago
Whoah, it's awesome to see this posted here in my native habitat! I've spent the last 8 years of my life building MUBI as Co-Founder and CTO (even longer than I've been on HN!). Please AMA.
- ohbleek 11y ago
  I love the site and found it through filmspotting. Any plans for adding support for kodi? (there's an addon already but it isn't updated regularly)
  - dasil003 11y ago
    We've put a hold on new platform development for most of this year in order to move towards a standardized API and tighten up our QA process, so no plans for this year. I can share that the top two platforms which we are seeing interest in are Roku and the new Apple TV.
    - jessaustin 11y ago
      Yes Roku please. Also does "Android" support include direct (not tab-cast) chromecast support, or is that another thing entirely? (I'm not home now so I haven't tried this myself.)
    - ssmoot 11y ago
      Never heard of MUBI before this post. Browsing some lists, it makes a ton of sense. I'd probably sign up right now if it were available on AppleTV. I don't really want to add another device to my entertainment center and not interested in watching anywhere but the TV (except on the iPad when traveling). We've got AppleTVs and a PS4. Tossed the Rokus. Not expecting you guys are hurting all that bad for my $40. But figured another vote/story couldn't hurt.
      - dasil003 11y ago
        We have a PS4 app, it's just not launched in the US yet due to the administrative and policy distance between SCEE and SCEA. It will be coming soon, but in the meantime, if you can get yourself a UK or EU-based PSN account, you can download the app through that and it will work fine anywhere in the world (provided you purchase a subscription through the web, the PSN store integration is a bit flaky and I don't want to promise that would work from US shores).
gjkood 11y ago
What is that line in the Pink Floyd song? "I got thirteen channels of shit on the tv to choose from..". Netflix is beginning to resemble that. I mean I love Netflix but its becoming a little hit-or-miss. The alternatives (proprietary content from HBO Now) are becoming more alluring. Anyway I just signed up a year's subscription with MUBI. I haven't had a chance to see "Junun" yet, but I just recently watched "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Mira Nair. I was blown away by the quality of the Music/Soundtrack in that. I don't know the precise style of music in the movie (Qawwali/Hindustani???) but I have never heard anything so amazing.
jo6gwb 11y ago
The list of movies looks fantastic, and considering that The Big Lebowski is leaving Netflix I may just sign up.
qq66 11y ago
> "We didn't even know [he was a member] because he was using an email that was not descriptive, and he was not using his real name," Cakarel says. This implies that the company looks through their subscriber rolls for famous film-industry personalities, which is an unusual thing to glibly admit to.
- Arnt 11y ago
  It's a bit more prosaic: Film people at Mubi attend film events along with other film people, shake hands and exchange pleasantries.
  - Arnt 11y ago
    Let me add to that. Starting from my own profile page at mubi, it took three clicks and a bit of scrolling to get to https://mubi.com/users/59108 https://mubi.com/users/59108 — people know each other.

158 points by antr 11y ago

I used Mubi a long time a go, but somehow forgot about them - probably due to their limited selection in Germany. The service itself always impressed me though - a service obviously run by true enthusiasts and aficionados. Glad to see they are still around.

dethstar 11y ago

I really like Mubi, I just don't keep it all year like I do with Netflix because of their one film a day model.

reubenmorais 11y ago

Sounds like Netflix needs to take a lesson from Valve and let its customers do the curation for them.

rocky1138 11y ago
I've been really impressed with Netflix's automatic suggestion algorithm. It frequently guesses my rating correctly and shows me movies that I do actually find interesting.
- protonfish 11y ago
  I have had a completely different experience. I like well-made movies, and am less picky about genre. It seems like if I rate a movie well, they suggest a poor movie of the same basic formula.
- MichaelGG 11y ago
  Wow. They routinely recommend bad for me. I even tried going along with a lot of their suggestions. Spent a day trying that out. It sucked. Now they show up in my "Continue Watching" list which requires going into preferences to remove. Now, Netflix doesn't even pretend to recommend good stuff. The "Recommended For You" sort gives me items that Netflix itself suggests I will rate 1-star. I must sort by rating to see the better stuff. And even then, most of the top items I've already seen. I cancelled. I used to pay Netflix (before streaming) while not receiving any DVDs. The recommendations were good enough for me to decide what to download. Not so much now.
  - rocky1138 11y ago
    Maybe the algorithm is different here in Canada? I wonder why we're getting so different of results.
2xlbuds 11y ago
Greenlight has widely been seen as a failure in the gaming community though. Steam users have been sold on hype and greenlit games only to get unfinished buggy messes all too often.
- reubenmorais 11y ago
  Greenlight is not what I was referring to. http://store.steampowered.com/curators/ http://store.steampowered.com/curators/

wfn 11y ago

MUBI's curatorial approach stands in sharp contrast to major streaming services like Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon, which have amassed large libraries and deliver personalized recommendations based on algorithms. MUBI's human-curated selection takes a lot of that choice away, and Cakarel thinks viewers are better off for it. "Think about your own Netflix experience and how frustrating it is — how long it takes you to find a film that you want to watch," says Cakarel. "It doesn't work. It categorically doesn't work." While I get what they're saying, I still wonder if it wouldn't be interesting to try out some personal recommendation algorithms/systems on their user ratings dataset. (After reviewing their T&C, I've actually crawled through their data (more like, their backend exposes neat API endpoints that are not part of any formal API (officially they don't have one)..) some time ago, and am still curious to just try out some stuff from scikit-learn. Maybe someone has thought/done the same? When contacted, the MUBI team (IIRC) basically said they're not interested in that as of now.

Arnt 11y ago
Please describe some neat things you'd like to do.
- wfn 11y ago
  For starters, I'd like to * index every piece of data properly, for easy reference to (a) films, (b) user ratings (per user per film) and (c) users (seeing the latter as simply sets of ratings on films) * then run a few collaborative recommendation algorithms on the indexed dataset - basically taking things from the scikit-learn python package and running them * then see (naively and heuristically) whether any recommendations for myself and for a friend who's interested in this make sense * then do a more proper machine learning dataset split into "teaching dataset" vs. "testing dataset", to see if any of those algos can predict what films a particular user would be interested in watching and how much they'd like them * and then to move onto something which may (I think) provide insights for this particular dataset, such as e.g. attempting to classify users into clusters, to see if there are any more homogeneous clusters of users, with some users acting as connecting "bridges" between clusters; I'd start with the kNN algorithm here, for example * it would also be interesting to attempt to classify films as well, and see whether some curious non-intuitive/non-stereotypical clusters emerge (something beyond well-known genre categories, etc.) I'm not sure what I'd be looking at in particular, but basically this assumes that we really do trust the collective ratings of users. The latter may be very problematic - for starters, I'm quite sure it'd be difficult to attempt to "normalize" the different ways users vote (4/5 rating is one thing for one person and another for a different person - of course collective averages may help here, and that's one of the things with this MUBI community in particular that drew my initial attention: overall (subjectively and with bias) it seems that the overall community rates films quite responsibly and with a degree of (let's say) signal.) * visualize classified clusters, include sliders which alter parameters for classification (including kNN's simple "n", but beyond that, too), etc.

danso 11y ago

> MUBI has spent years cultivating that audience with a selection of artsy, obscure films that don't usually appear on Netflix or Hulu. (It originally launched under the name "The Auteurs," before rebranding in 2010 as MUBI — a play on accented pronunciations of "movie," and after a city in Nigeria.) On Monday, the titles available on the company's US site included Bernardo Bertolucci's 1970 classic The Conformist, and Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance, by Chan-wook Park. Occasionally, it features more mainstream movies like Sin City, currently available on the French site, though the majority are far more obscure. A new title is added every day as another drops out, meaning that only 30 films are available for streaming at any given time. In defense of Netflix (not that the "Goliath" in this comparison needs defenders)...but "Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance" has been available on streaming Netflix for, as far as I remember, the time that I've been a customer, which was basically when streaming started. "Mr. Vengeance" is the first in "The Vengeance Trilogy" that includes the more well-known "Oldboy" [1] and "Sympathy for Lady Vengeance"...I think the entire trilogy has been on Netflix for years (including the regrettable American remake of Oldboy, but can't fault Netflix for having it...) Even as Netflix's blockbuster selection has faded (with the ending of the Starz deal, and in comparison to HBONow)...I've never had a complaint about their selection of the most well-known and recent foreign indies. "Let the Right One In", "The Hunt", "Force Majeure", The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo trilogy...though sure, they could always have more (and obviously, I don't know enough of the foreign scene to know all of the gems that they don't have). But I imagine the problem for Netflix isn't that they do a shitty job of curation...but that the deals end up not being financially valuable to them, as it was in the Starz case. Ang Lee's movies ("Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon" and "Lust, Caution") were long-time selections, but I've just noticed they are no longer available for streaming. edit: if you liked Oldboy, Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance is definitely worth checking out. But whereas Oldboy was entertaining on top of being emotionally extreme...I'd argue "Mr. Vengeance" is much more of an artistic achievement, but at the cost of being "entertaining". In fact, I get a little ill at the thought of re-watching it, even though I own it on DVD. [1] http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oldboy-2005 http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/oldboy-2005 -- Ebert's review here is so glowing that not only did it get me to seek out Oldboy, but it changed the way I think of foreign movies in comparison to Hollywood.

Steko 11y ago

smazga 11y ago

Why won't they (mubi.com) tell me how much it costs? No prices listed, and clicking links that seem like they would take me to that info send me to the 'subscribe now' nag dialog. That's close-tab-and-forget-about-it behavior.

navait 11y ago
It's 4.99/Mo which it clearly says after the sign up dialog.
- malkia 11y ago
  $3.99/month if subscribed for 12 months.
- detaro 11y ago
  AFTER the sign up is a bit late...
  - Arnt 11y ago
    Maybe. Until quite recently there was a forum and such things, which you could use for free. Ninetysome per cent of the users never paid anything, and surprisingly many didn't know that Mubi offered any paid service. But yes, nowadays I think it would make more sense to make the price tag for the paid service more visible.
    - detaro 11y ago
      Yes, giving the website a quick glance now it looks like a web shop/streaming portal: products and user reviews and I wouldn't even have expected you could create free account, much less it to be useful.
xrstf 11y ago
There is an "About MUBI" link on the top left. A popup with a cleverly disguised slideshow will open, telling you about the price of 4,99€ per month.

niels_olson 11y ago

I subscribed to MUBI for a while, and just never watched the films that were available. Some are quite risque for a dad with two pre-teens at home. But overall, I just don't watch movies at home. There's always something else to do. I hope they stay in business long enough for me to get to the point that I have time to participate.

bazzargh 11y ago

I used to use mubi back in the Auteurs days but it was frustrating that the selection was so much smaller in the UK than the US (I recall it being around 10% of the films; anything that had had a mainstream cinema release was missing). They still seem to have that restriction, but they've taken the 'show me what's available in my area' filter away. I can understand why they'd do that, but it feels a bit off being asked to sign up for a service where the films advertised on the front page aren't available.

lemiffe 11y ago
Exactly the same issue, kind of fell off my radar as a result of that, now I'm curious to see the selection.

pmontra 11y ago

"This film is not currently playing on MUBI but 30 other great films are. See what's NOW SHOWING" Why? That was for a movie that I could pay to watch but they don't let me watch it. I wonder how they could be in business. Still they are so it's probably a sensible choice that I fail to understand.

Arnt 11y ago
The niche is something like: A quickly browsed list that includes no teevee series, no films called Foo 2, nothing offensively bad, but some good films, some classics, some that are just easy on the eyes. It'll never be mainstream, but it's great for middlebrow teevee haters like myself.
dasil003 11y ago
We recognize the confusion this causes in the UI, but indeed there is a valid reason for it. Since the beginning we have streamed globally, but a different selection in each country. Since we have editorial and social features on the site as well, we can't just have pages appear and disappear from the site like Netflix does. All these pages exist as connective tissue between users in different countries (which becomes even more important with links shared on social networks). Even if social features and film discussions don't interest you, clicking Add to Watchlist tells us you want to watch that and helps in our acquisitions and programming process.
- pmontra 11y ago
  Thanks for answering. So the movie I wanted to see is currently available in another country or has been available in mine but not now. The UI could be tweaked to explain that and not (negatively) surprise customers but it seems that you already know that. Probably you have plans to improve it. Your approach is similar to TV, a list of programs to choose from but not the full catalog. Given these terms I'm not sure I'll ever be a customer but this business model seems to be serving you well so I can hardly criticize it.

dasil003 11y ago

Whoah, it's awesome to see this posted here in my native habitat! I've spent the last 8 years of my life building MUBI as Co-Founder and CTO (even longer than I've been on HN!). Please AMA.

ohbleek 11y ago
I love the site and found it through filmspotting. Any plans for adding support for kodi? (there's an addon already but it isn't updated regularly)
- dasil003 11y ago
  We've put a hold on new platform development for most of this year in order to move towards a standardized API and tighten up our QA process, so no plans for this year. I can share that the top two platforms which we are seeing interest in are Roku and the new Apple TV.
  - jessaustin 11y ago
    Yes Roku please. Also does "Android" support include direct (not tab-cast) chromecast support, or is that another thing entirely? (I'm not home now so I haven't tried this myself.)
  - ssmoot 11y ago
    Never heard of MUBI before this post. Browsing some lists, it makes a ton of sense. I'd probably sign up right now if it were available on AppleTV. I don't really want to add another device to my entertainment center and not interested in watching anywhere but the TV (except on the iPad when traveling). We've got AppleTVs and a PS4. Tossed the Rokus. Not expecting you guys are hurting all that bad for my $40. But figured another vote/story couldn't hurt.
    - dasil003 11y ago
      We have a PS4 app, it's just not launched in the US yet due to the administrative and policy distance between SCEE and SCEA. It will be coming soon, but in the meantime, if you can get yourself a UK or EU-based PSN account, you can download the app through that and it will work fine anywhere in the world (provided you purchase a subscription through the web, the PSN store integration is a bit flaky and I don't want to promise that would work from US shores).

gjkood 11y ago

What is that line in the Pink Floyd song? "I got thirteen channels of shit on the tv to choose from..". Netflix is beginning to resemble that. I mean I love Netflix but its becoming a little hit-or-miss. The alternatives (proprietary content from HBO Now) are becoming more alluring. Anyway I just signed up a year's subscription with MUBI. I haven't had a chance to see "Junun" yet, but I just recently watched "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" by Mira Nair. I was blown away by the quality of the Music/Soundtrack in that. I don't know the precise style of music in the movie (Qawwali/Hindustani???) but I have never heard anything so amazing.

jo6gwb 11y ago

The list of movies looks fantastic, and considering that The Big Lebowski is leaving Netflix I may just sign up.

qq66 11y ago

> "We didn't even know [he was a member] because he was using an email that was not descriptive, and he was not using his real name," Cakarel says. This implies that the company looks through their subscriber rolls for famous film-industry personalities, which is an unusual thing to glibly admit to.

Arnt 11y ago
It's a bit more prosaic: Film people at Mubi attend film events along with other film people, shake hands and exchange pleasantries.
- Arnt 11y ago
  Let me add to that. Starting from my own profile page at mubi, it took three clicks and a bit of scrolling to get to https://mubi.com/users/59108 https://mubi.com/users/59108 — people know each other.