SEASON TWO CHALLENGE “THE MESSAGE” IS OFFICIALLY OPEN!
Abu Dhabi, UAE – The winning films from The Smovies competition will begin screening on VOX Cinemas tomorrow (July 9). The winner of the season, “The Spartan Surprise” by Faisal Hashmi, will be leading the list of short films that will be screened across VOX Cinemas, prior to the main feature, along with second place winner “The Epiphany” and third place winner “Please Don’t Steal My Show.” Seven shortlisted films receive screen time, and the Second Season of The Smovies, a narrative challenge called The Message, has already kicked off!
The competition, which was conducted by BrandMoxie, with VOX Cinemas was entitled, for this season, #PlsDontStealMyShow, and it focused on cinema etiquette. An award ceremony recognized all the winners. Second Place selection was “The Epiphany” by Shezah Salam, while “Please Don’t Steal My Show” by Vimin Thomas, came in third. The three top winners will be screened across VOX Cinemas, along with other special selections “NONSENSE” by Maha Tareq Almehairbi, “TV Watching” by Ankit Ojha & Zaw Aly, “You Are Not Alone” and “Sameer Antulay” by Vasilis Billy Blioumis.
The Smovies is an exciting platform, launched in April 2015 that aims to promote and encourage filmmaking in the UAE. It was developed by BrandMoxie, a leading marketing firm in the UAE, with the strategic partnership of VOX Cinemas, the largest network of film screens in the nation.
The month-long competition attracted many entries, out of which 28 were selected for consideration, and three chosen as the winners. 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.
“We are pleased with the creative interpretations to the VOX Cinemas challenge, as well as the enthusiastic response and level of community engagement,” said CEO of VOX Cinemas, Cameron Mitchell. “At VOX Cinemas we believe in engaging our customers, not only in the appreciation of quality films but also in nurturing local talent in the art of film making.”
“Season one has been a great success, and we were pleased with the response we received from independent film makers, students and creative groups,” said Sana Bagersh, CEO of BrandMoxie. “We are excited about the interest taken especially by those in the industry, and look forward to the launch of the next competition to achieve even greater engagement”.
The jury of The Smovies are 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.
