David Farnor | On 10, Jan 2017

The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Mäki leads a new wave of exclusives MUBI is distributing in the UK in 2017.

Juho Kuosmanen’s charming boxing move, which won the Cannes Un Certain Regard prize this year, is one of several acclaimed titles acquired by the subscription service, including Bruno Dumont’s Palme d’Or contender Slack Bay, starring Juliette Binoche.

In the last year, MUBI has worked with Paul Thomas Anderson, Miguel Gomes, Mathieu Amalric and Eugène Green to expand from online releases to theatrical distribution as well, with the company becoming an official FDA-recognised distributor in 2016.

The result is a streaming platform that champions fresh and existing talent on both the big screen and the small screen. Indeed, the site is placing a particular emphasis on emerging filmmakers in 2017, with the launch of a new strand, Discoveries, which will kick off with Damien Manivel’s teen romance Le Parc, straight from this year’s ACID section in Cannes.

Here are the exclusives that are on the way to MUBI in 2017:

The Happiest Day in the Life of Olli Maki

UK theatrical release date: April 21st 2017
Exclusive streaming release on MUBI: Spring 2017

Winner of Un Certain Regard at Cannes 2016 and selected by Finland as Foreign Film entry for the 2017 Oscars, the film tells the true story of Olli Mäki, the famous Finnish boxer who had a shot at the 1962 World Featherweight title. Immensely talented and equally modest, Olli’s small town life is transformed when he is swept into national stardom and suddenly regarded as a symbol of his country. There’s only one problem: Olli has just fallen in love.

Slack Bay

UK theatrical release date: Spring 2017
Exclusive streaming release on MUBI: Spring 2017

The always provocative Bruno Dumont returns with a peculiar and witty romp which sees infamous inspectors Machin and Malfoy attempting to unlock the disappearance of several people on the beaches of Northern France. Starring Juliette Binoche, Fabrice Luchini and Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi.

Discoveries: Le Parc

UK theatrical release date: February 10th
Exclusive streaming release on MUBI: February 10th

Summer time. A teenage boy and girl have their first date in a park. Hesitant and shy at first, they soon discover each other, get closer as they wander, and end up falling in love. But as the sun goes down, it is time to part… And a dark night begins.

Discoveries: Silvered Water, Syria Self-Portrait

Exclusive streaming release on MUBI: March 3rd

A look at first-hand video accounts of violence in modern-day Syria as filmed by activists in the besieged city of Homs.

Discoveries: Between Fences

Exclusive streaming release on MUBI: March 17th

Avi Mograbi and Chen Alon meet African asylum-seekers in a detention facility in the middle of the Negev desert where they are confined by the state of Israel. Together, they question the status of the refugees in Israel using ‘Theater of the Oppressed’ techniques. What leads men and women to leave everything behind and go towards the unknown? Can the Israelis working with the asylum seekers put themselves in the refugee’s shoes?

Discoveries: Sarah Winchester

Exclusive streaming release on MUBI: April

Bertrand Bonello’s short film follows a musician and stage director, played by Reda Kateb, who is standing facing his console, making some sound tests. He is rehearsing in the auditorium of the Opéra de Paris. From there, he is directing prima ballerina Marie-Agnès Gillot for an opera entitled Sarah Winchester, which is inspired by the life of this American woman whose fate was so peculiar.

Discoveries: Rouge

Exclusive streaming release on MUBI: April

A famous filmmaker works on his next film, which will focus on monstrosity. He is obsessed by the idea of finding a painting that will be central to the film and will crystallise all the power and beauty of monsters. But what he doesn’t show to anyone, not even his wife, is the mark on his back that keeps getting bigger. This red mark worries him, upsets him, and seems to want to tell him something…

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