The Smovies Kicks Off New Season

The theme promotes UAE’s diversity and tolerance

 

Abu Dhabi, UAE – The Smovies short film competition, conducted in partnership with VOX Cinemas and the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi, has launched its new one-minute film challenge themed “Culture and Understanding.”

 

The Smovies competition, initiated by BrandMoxie, a leading marketing and advertising agency based the UAE, as a way to encourage budding filmmakers, students, amateurs, and professionals to create digital content that can be showcased to local and international audiences. The Smovies winning film is screened across VOX theaters in the UAE.

 

“This year’s theme, #CultureAndUnderstanding, was inspired by the rich cultural diversity of the UAE and it reflects the country’s welcoming spirit and its support for deepening of tolerance between nations,” said Sana Bagersh, CEO of BrandMoxie and founder of The Smovies.

 

As part of the competition, The Smovies will provide film workshops led by experienced directors, including Los Angeles film agency CreatorUp on how to tell a story and capture a complete idea in a one minute format.

 

“VOX Cinemas is proud to be part of The Smovies as an essential platform for emerging filmmakers and creatives. We look forward to seeing the submissions for this year’s competition. Supporting regional talent and bringing their winning creations to VOX Cinemas’ screens is another way in which we’re delivering on Majid Al Futtaim’s commitment to creating great moments for everyone, everyday,” added Cameron Mitchell, CEO, VOX Cinemas.

 

Highlighting the U.S. Embassy’s ongoing partnership with The Smovies, U.S. Embassy spokesperson Nadia Ziyadeh stated that, “We are proud to have been a part of The Smovies over the last three years, and we look forward to the upcoming season of this innovative competition.”

 

With submissions limited to 60 seconds or list, filmmakers will have a unique opportunity to express their creativity in conveying this year’s theme, #CultureAndUnderstanding. The submissions can be made in the form of a story, a documentary-style presentation, a social commentary or a literary presentation.

 

The deadline for submissions is November 15, 2017. The short-listed entries will be judged by the Smovies’ jury of film experts: Emirati actor Mansoor Alfeeli (Zinzana), directors Majid Al Ansari (Zinzana), Khaled Al Mahmoud (Sabeel) and Nujoom Al Ghanem (Red, Blue, Yellow), as well as filmmaking instructors and veterans Imad DeirAtany, David Moore, Greg Unrau, Mohannad Al Bakri, Dahlia Mahmoud and Michelle Nickelson.

 

For more information or to participate, applicants can go to www.thesmovies.com as well as The Smovies Facebook page and group, and by emailing events@oquezo.com.

The Smovies #BornToChallenge Winner now screening at VOX Cinemas

Abu Dhabi, UAE –The winning film of the Smovies’ fifth season is Vasilis Blioumis “Walking With You” which has started screening at VOX Cinemas across the UAE, Oman and Lebanon. The film, which focuses on how a woman bravely battles breast cancer, beat a shortlist of 24 films.

The Smovies, which was launched in 2014 by BrandMoxie, a leading marketing firm in the UAE, is aimed at encouraging budding filmmakers and identifying emerging talent. The competition, with VOX Cinemas as strategic partners, is open to students, amateurs and professionals, whose submissions are one minute long short films shot with a camera or smart phone.

The fifth season’s theme, “Born to Challenge,” attracted submissions from across the country. It was supported by Infiniti of Arabian Automobiles in Dubai and the US Embassy Abu Dhabi. Previous Smovies challenges included one on cinema etiquette, and the others were titled “The Message”, “Why I Love UAE”, and “I Have a Dream”.

Sana Bagersh, founder of The Smovies praised the quality of submissions, and said that Blioumis’ film was chosen by The Smovies’ jury because of the delicate way it handled a difficult subject. “It’s a moving film and the actors do a magnificent job. A disease like cancer is devastating on many levels, but in this film Blioumis beautifully portrays a woman who comes to term with herself even as her looks change and people around her see her differently,” said Bagersh

The new season has kicked off with the theme “Giving,” reflecting the announcement by HH President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed’s declaring 2017 the year of giving.

Bagersh said the new theme provides broad flexibility for storytellers and has the potential to be adapted into beautiful film on the big screen. “There’s just so much raw untapped talent that we’re very optimistic that we’ll see some great content.”

Film submissions for the new season run through to April 2017. The shortlisted entries will be judged by The Smovies’ jury of film experts: Emirati actor Mansoor Al Feeli (Zinzana), Khaled Al Mahmoud (Sabeel) and Nujoom Al Ghanem (Red, Blue, Yellow), award winning scriptwriter Imad Deiratany, as well as filmmaking instructors and veterans David Moore, Greg Unrau, Mohannad Al Bakri, Dahlia Mahmoud and Michelle Nickelson. All submissions are uploaded to the platform’s own website www.thesmovies.com.

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Media Inquiries: Neil Bie Email: events@oquezo.com Tel: 02-4918624

 

ABOUT
The Smovies

The Smovies is a short film creation platform that has been launched by BrandMoxie, a leading media group in the UAE involved in marketing, publishing and events. The Smovies is intended to provide an opportunity for emerging filmmakers, by offering recognition and exposure through the platform. The Smovies also embraces new technologies, and promotes the film making capabilities of phones, tablets and other everyday communication terminals. The competitions roll out across three seasons: April to June, July to September and October to December. Other film competitions will focus on narrative and national themes. BrandMoxie’s CSR initiatives include Tempo, a community focused magazine, Tamakkan, an entrepreneurship and innovation platform, and The Dream Players, a programme that supports the performing arts. BrandMoxie is based in twofour54, Park Rotana Complex, Abu Dhabi UAE  www.thesmovies.com www.brandmoxie.com www.tamakkan.com

Please follow us on:

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About the U.S. Embassy

U.S. Embassy Abu Dhabi is dedicated to strengthening US-UAE partnerships in diplomacy, commerce, trade, regional security, education, art and culture. The Embassy engages with a wide range of local partners to encourage broader and deeper understanding between the people of the United States and the United Arab Emirates.

 

 

Vox brings short films back into cinemas

Chris Newbould July 9, 2015

Vox cinemas is set to give audiences a blast from the past this weekend when it revives the tradition of screening short films before the main feature. The films are the winning entries from the Smovies competition, run in partnership with Brand Moxie. A total of seven films will receive airtime thanks to the competition, headed up by overall winner Faisal Hashmi’s The Spartan Surprise. Sadly, to the best of our knowledge, the renaissance won’t be accompanied by an intermission with Wurlitzer organ and ice cream salesgirls in full fifties regalia.

The contestants ranged from students to professional and amateur filmmakers, who each submitted a 45-second short clip. Awards for the competition include a grand prize of Dh 10,000 and runner-up prizes of cinema vouchers and other gifts. The main prize for the filmmakers was the opportunity to have their Smovies screened in VOX Cinemas in the UAE.

The jury of The Smovies included Emirati directors Nawaf Al Janahi, Khaled Al Mahmoud and Nujoom Al Ghanem, as well as filmmaking instructors and veterans David Moore, Greg Unrau, Mohannad al Bakri and Michelle Nickelson.

The second season of The Smovies, has been launched and will be a narrative challenge themed “The Message” or #SmoviesMessage, and entries submission is open. The deadline for Season 2 is August 15. See www.thesmovies.com for details.

Link: http://www.thenational.ae/blogs/scene-heard/vox-brings-short-films-back-into-cinemas

The Smovies Short Film Platform Launches Creative Filmmaking

http://www.1888pressrelease.com/the-smovies-short-film-platform-launches-creative-filmmaking-pr-560863.html

 

Abu Dhabi, UAE – The Smovies, an exciting platform that reinvents the short film competition, has been launched by BrandMoxie, a leading marketing firm, alongside its newly announced strategic partner VOX Cinemas which is owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, the cinema arm of the wider Majid Al Futtaim Ventures group of businesses. As the Middle East’s largest and fastest growing cinema exhibitor, VOX Cinemas will support The Smovies by offering screening exposure to the winning entries of the competition across its cinemas in the UAE.

The Smovies will run three seasons of competitions, focusing on various themes from CSR, and National Day to road safety and other topics at the hearts of budding filmmakers. The competition has debuted with a cinema specific theme around which the first films will be created. “We are thrilled to be launching The Smovies, and are excited to be working with VOX Cinemas who are also believers in community engagement, and commitment to innovation and creativity,” said Sana Bagersh, CEO of BrandMoxie.

Commenting on VOX Cinemas’ involvement in the competition, Ashleigh Potts, Corporate Sales and Marketing Manager at Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas said, “The entire idea behind The Smovies is to make movie making easy and accessible to all. At VOX Cinemas we are dedicated to delivering innovative and customer-focused cinema experiences, which is why we look forward to being part of this concept and giving movie fans across the UAE the chance to be part of the thrilling filmmaking process with BrandMoxie.”

The Smovies’ first competition will run for about a month, with submissions uploaded to the platform’s own website www.thesmovies.com. The shortlisted entries will be judged by The Smovies’ jury of film experts. After the final selection of the top entries, members of the public will be able to vote for their favorite entries.

The winners of the competition will be awarded a grand prize of Dhs 10,000, with runner-up entrants receiving cinema vouchers among other gifts. The winners will have an opportunity to develop their idea into multiple vignettes, or ads, which will be screened across VOX Cinemas in the UAE.

“Technology has shaped the creation and consumption of video content today and one of the more exciting directions this has taken includes the rise of user-generated content, a dynamic phenomenon that we are embracing through The Smovies,” Ms. Potts added.

The Smovies will run two competition seasons after the VOX Cinemas competition. In July the competition will be narrative challenge and in October it will run a UAE-centred theme.

VOX, partner launch short film contest

ABU DHABI, April 12, 2015

Abu Dhabi’s VOX Cinemas and its strategic partner BrandMoxie have launched The Smovies, an exciting platform that reinvents the short film competition.

VOX Cinemas, owned and operated by Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas, the cinema arm of the wider Majid Al Futtaim Ventures group of businesses, will support The Smovies by offering screening exposure to the winning entries of the competition across its cinemas in the UAE.

The Smovies will run three seasons of competitions, focusing on various themes from CSR, and National Day to road safety and other topics at the hearts of budding filmmakers.  The competition has debuted with a cinema specific theme around which the first films will be created.

“We are thrilled to be launching The Smovies, and are excited to be working with VOX Cinemas who are also believers in community engagement, and commitment to innovation and creativity,” said Sana Bagersh, CEO of BrandMoxie

Ashleigh Potts, corporate sales and marketing manager at Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas said: “The entire idea behind The Smovies is to make movie making easy and accessible to all. At VOX Cinemas we are dedicated to delivering innovative and customer-focused cinema experiences, which is why we look forward to being part of this concept and giving movie fans across the UAE the chance to be part of the thrilling filmmaking process with BrandMoxie.”

The Smovies’ first competition will run for about a month, with submissions uploaded to the platform’s own website www.thesmovies.com.  The shortlisted entries will be judged by The Smovies’ jury of film experts. After the final selection of the top entries, members of the public will be able to vote for their favourite entries.

The winners of the competition will be awarded a grand prize of Dh10, 000 ($27,200), with runner-up entrants receiving cinema vouchers among other gifts.  The winners will have an opportunity to develop their idea into multiple vignettes, or ads, which will be screened across VOX Cinemas in the UAE.

“Technology has shaped the creation and consumption of video content today and one of the more exciting directions this has taken includes the rise of user-generated content, a dynamic phenomenon that we are embracing through The Smovies,” Potts added.

The Smovies will run two competition seasons after the VOX Cinemas competition.  In July the competition will be narrative challenge and in October it will run a UAE-centred theme. – Trade Arabia News Service

Link: http://www.tradearabia.com/news/MEDIA_279562.html