The Smovies, a platform that aims to reinvents the short film competition, has been launched by BrandMoxie, a 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. 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 corporate social responsibility (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,” says Sana Bagersh, CEO of BrandMoxie in a press statement.

Commenting on VOX Cinemas’ involvement in the competition, Ashleigh Potts, corporate sales and marketing manager at Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas adds: “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 Smovies’ jury of film experts will judge the shortlisted entries. 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 AED10,000 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.

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