David Farnor | On 24, Sep 2015

Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film Junun will be released exclusively on MUBI in October.

The film is named after an alternate spelling of “junoon”, the Arabic, Persian, Urdu, and Hindi word for “mania”, or “the madness of love”.

The film was made during a trip to Rajasthan in North-western India earlier this year, where the There Will Be Blood director, his close friend and collaborator, Jonny Greenwood, and Shye Ben Tzur were hosted by the Maharaja of Jodhpur. Their destination was the 15th-century Mehrangarh Fort, where Greenwood (with the help of Radiohead producer Nigel Godrich and a group of musicians called from across the Indian sub-continent) worked on Ben Tzur’s album, which will be released by Nonesuch in November.

The band assembled a makeshift studio at the fort and over the following weeks, created the collaboration that became the music and film of Junun.

Efe Cakarel, Founder & CEO of MUBI, describes the movie as “unique”.

“The founding vision of MUBI was to build a place where a director such as Paul Thomas Anderson could premiere a unique film like Junin,” he says. “To be here today is not only an honour and a significant milestone but a realisation of everything we dreamed of in the beginning.”

“We’re huge fans of MUBI and wanted to be a part of what they do,” adds Paul Thomas Anderson. “Hopefully people will discover both the music that’s been made by Shye and Jonny and a great place to watch films.”

The agreement is the latest in a string of high-profile deals for the subscription video on-demand site, which takes a curated approach to its streaming line-up, offering cult, classic and award-winning films. Every day a new film is added, with titles available for 30 days before being removed. The site’s carousel-style system, which revolves around more world cinema and independent titles than SVOD rivals, has built a significant following in the UK and around the world.

Junun will be released globally on the site on Friday 9th October, the day after its premiere as the opening film of the New York Film Festival. The deal comes hot on the heels of agreements with both Paramount and Sony for their back catalogue of hits.

For more information on what’s new and coming soon to MUBI UK, click here.

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