French film group MK2, a family-run company that has submitted five films in competition at Cannes and won four awards, is making its capital available to the public for the first time in its 52-year history.
The company, led by brothers Nathanael and Elisha Kermitz, which operates a respected arthouse exhibition chain across Paris, has launched a crowdfunding campaign aimed at funding an ambitious complete renovation of the MK2 Library, the company’s flagship complex in the French capital.
MK2 is seeking to raise up to €5 million ($5.8 million) from the public through a campaign launched on investment platform Lita to support the modernization and expansion of MK2 Bibliothèque, a 20-screen complex in the 13th arrondissement considered the third largest cinema in Paris.
This fundraising campaign will allow the general public to invest in MK2 Cinemas from as little as €100 through non-voting shares. Investors are eligible for annual returns of 4% to 8% depending on the company’s performance and are guaranteed a share buyback after five years.
The project comes as exhibitors across Europe continue to invest in premium cinema experiences and alternative cultural offerings to attract audiences and diversify revenue streams beyond traditional moviegoing. In France, Pathé, which has welcomed shipping magnate Rodolphe Saade as a new shareholder and will acquire a 20% stake in the company in 2024, recently opened the luxurious Pathé Palace cinema in central Paris. MK2, meanwhile, is betting on a broader transformation of its flagship site to build what Elisha Kermitz calls a “cultureplex.” As such, the venue is being upgraded with new image and sound technology, redesigned interiors and expanded cultural offerings.
As part of the renovation plan, MK2 is scheduled to open a museum with five exhibition galleries in early 2027, followed by a second film-themed hotel in summer 2027. For the past year or so, the banner has already hosted a jam-packed series of masterclasses from notable filmmakers, talents and writers, from “The Secret Agent” director Kleber Mendonça Filho to Juliette Binoche and Salman. Rushdie is an Indian-born British-American novelist best known for his 1988 novel The Satanic Verses, which is considered a blasphemous depiction of the Prophet Muhammad and prompted Iran’s Ayatollah Khomeini to issue a fatwa calling for his death. MK2 has also been ahead of the curve in terms of youth-biased alternative programming, especially the documentary “Kaizen,” which followed YouTube star Inoxtag’s climb to the top of Mount Everest.
In an interview with Variety, Elisha Kermitz said the crowdfunding effort is aimed at letting viewers more directly participate in MK2’s future growth, while maintaining full control of editorial strategy and family ownership.
The project’s underlying vision reflects Kermitz’s belief that movie theaters should serve as an antidote to digital isolation. In a recent speech at HEC Paris, he cited Jean-Luc Godard’s famous observation that “when you go to the cinema, you keep your head up; when you watch television, you bow your head” and argued that the moviegoing experience encourages audiences to actively engage with art, rather than resigning themselves to passive consumption of algorithm-driven content.
“Today, we feel there is a very strong desire for people to come together and rebuild a sense of community,” Kermitz said. “We believe that MK2 Cinema is a place that allows people to gather around stories and foster social well-being and, through it, humanity. That is absolutely necessary.”
Founded in 1974 by Marin Kermitz, MK2 has evolved into a full-service entertainment group with production, distribution, international sales, theatrical exhibition, hospitality and cultural experiences spearheaded by his sons Nathanael and Elisha. Banner’s most successful cultural initiatives include Cinema Paradiso, a festival dedicated to film, food and clubbing held in Paris’ most famous venues, from the Grand Palais to the Louvre. The next festival will open at the Louvre on July 1st, with notable filmmakers including Wes Anderson in attendance.
MK2 Films, whose international sales division is headed by Irish-born executive Fionnuala Jamieson, has had an impressive track record at the Cannes Film Festival and Oscars in recent years, including Palme d’Or wins for films such as Justin Torrier’s Anatomy of the Fall, The Secret Agent and Sentimental Value. This year, the company submitted 11 films to the festival, including five in competition, including Andrei Zvyagintsev’s Minotaur, which won the Grand Prix, and Marie-Clémentine Desabejiumbo’s Ben Imana, which won the Camera d’Or.
