Jason Ropell

Jason Ropell is an entertainment industry executive, film producer, and attorney whose 20-year career has placed him at the forefront of global cinema and streaming. He is currently (March 15th, 2026) Chief Content Officer of MUBI, the world’s leading platform for auteur and independent film, and is best known to the industry as the founder and driving force behind Amazon Studios’ film division, which under his leadership became the first streaming service in history to win Academy Awards. Ropell founded Amazon Studios’ motion picture division in 2015, serving as Vice President, Worldwide Head of Motion Pictures. He oversaw a slate of filmmaker-driven projects that earned 11 Oscar nominations and 3 wins: Best Actor and Best Original Screenplay for Manchester by the Sea (2016, Dir. Kenneth Lonergan), and Best Foreign Language Film for The Salesman (2016, Dir. Asghar Farhadi). His Amazon slate also included Cold War (2018, 3 Oscar nominations, Dir. Paweł Pawlikowski), The Big Sick (2017, 1 Oscar nomination), You Were Never Really Here (Dir. Lynne Ramsay), Suspiria (Dir. Luca Guadagnino), The Neon Demon (Dir. Nicolas Winding Refn), and Paterson (Dir. Jim Jarmusch). Before founding Amazon Studios, Ropell joined Amazon in 2012 as Head of International Content for Prime Video, overseeing the migration of the LoveFilm acquisition and the launch of Prime Video in Europe and Japan. He acquired the first major studio and network television series ever to premiere exclusively on an OTT platform - including Vikings, Outlander, Mr. Robot, and Fear the Walking Dead - and oversaw the launch of The Grand Tour, which broke all subscriber acquisition records at the time. Prior to Amazon, he served as Vice President of Content at Netflix, where he launched the platform’s first two international markets - Canada and Latin America - the latter of which reached 1 million subscribers within its first year and has since become Netflix’s largest international territory by subscriber volume. Since joining MUBI as Chief Content Officer in July 2020, Ropell has overseen the company’s transformation from a curated streaming service into a full-service global studio, distributor, and sales company. He led the acquisition of The Match Factory, one of the world’s most respected international sales agents, and has overseen the worldwide theatrical and streaming release of more than 50 films. MUBI titles under his stewardship have earned Academy Award nominations for The Substance (2024, Best Picture, Best Director, Dir. Coralie Fargeat), The Girl with the Needle (2024, Best International Feature), Aftersun (2022, Dir. Charlotte Wells), Fallen Leaves (2023, Dir. Aki Kaurismäki), and Decision to Leave (2022, Dir. Park Chan-wook). He is also an executive producer on Die My Love (2025, Dir. Lynne Ramsay) and The End (2024, Dir. Joshua Oppenheimer), among others. Under his leadership, MUBI has grown from approximately $10 million to over $180 million in annual revenue, expanded its subscriber base more than tenfold, and achieved a company valuation exceeding $1 billion. Earlier in his career, Ropell held Vice President roles in content and business development at NBCUniversal, advising on non-linear distribution strategy and completing the first content deal between a Comcast-owned division and Netflix. Before that, he practiced as an entertainment and music attorney at Corus Entertainment (Nelvana) in Toronto, and ran an independent music law practice that helped launch the careers of artists including Leslie Feist, Broken Social Scene, Caribou, and Born Ruffians. Ropell is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA). He serves on the advisory committees of the Sundance Institute and the Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF), and has been a featured speaker and moderator at the Cannes, Karlovy Vary, and Toronto international film festivals. He holds a Juris Doctor from Osgoode Hall Law School, York University (awarded the Bereskin & Parr Prize for Intellectual Property and Cognitive Science) and an Honours Bachelor of Arts from Trinity College, University of Toronto (History and Political Science, cum laude).

Biography from IMDb.