Cinema is how we remember each other.
Smadi exists because too many of the stories we grew up with never made it to a screen big enough to matter.
Our mission
Smadi is a streaming platform for the Global South, the diaspora, and every audience that has waited too long to see itself reflected.
We are building the home that independent filmmakers — and the communities they come from — deserve: a place where your language is not a subtitle, where your culture is not a footnote, and where your story is not a niche.
We are you. We see you. We celebrate your cultures, your stories, and your cinema.
Where we're from
Smadi is registered in Georgia, United States, and operated from Lisbon, Portugal — a natural bridge between the diaspora audiences we serve in the Americas, Europe, Africa, and the Middle East.
Our operating base in Lisbon places us inside one of the most multilingual, multicultural cities in Europe, at the crossroads of the Lusophone, Francophone, and Hispanophone worlds we are building for.
The team
Smadi was founded by a team with decades of combined experience across independent film production, cultural strategy, streaming platform architecture, and diaspora community work.
Our founders have worked in festival circuits, broadcast television, creator-led media, and international distribution. We have lived the gap between the stories we wanted to tell and the platforms willing to carry them. Smadi is our answer.
We'll introduce ourselves properly closer to launch. For now, we're focused on building.
The regions we serve
Smadi's founding catalog is built around five diaspora and regional audiences:
- Caribbean and Caribbean diaspora
- Francophone Africa and the Maghreb
- Lusophone Africa, Brazil, Cape Verde, and Portugal
- The Middle East and North Africa (MENA)
- The United States diaspora communities
How Smadi works
Free tier (ad-supported)
Designated titles free with contextual, brand-safe advertising. No behavioral tracking, ever.
Subscriber tier
Full catalog, reduced advertising, monthly Smadis allocation. USD$6.99/month.
Smadi Select
Curated premium titles unlockable with Smadis — our in-platform utility token for tipping filmmakers and accessing featured work.
What we will never do
- ✕ Sell your personal data.
- ✕ Track your behavior across the web.
- ✕ Serve political advertising or content designed to influence elections.
- ✕ Promote adult, violent, or extremist content.
- ✕ Compromise on the cultural integrity of the stories we carry.
Join us.
Smadi is ready. We're finalizing our founding catalog. Whether you're here to watch, to create, or to partner — there's a door open for you.