Tag: US Embassy

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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.

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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

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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.