23rd Annual FirstGlance Film Festival Coverage

by Le Anne Lindsay, Editor

POST UPDATE! 3.1.2021

It’s already time for FirstGlance Film Festival to start preparing for the 24th Annual Fest in Philly!

Open call for entries started on March 1, 2021 exclusively on FilmFreeway for their 24^th annual event scheduled for October 15-17, 2021, at the iconic Colonial Theatre, 227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, Pa.

FirstGlance is open to filmmakers across the globe and accepts submissions in all genres, especially horror, sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and comedy from professional, first-time, student, national and international indie filmmakers…READ MORE

ORIGINAL POST HIGHLIGHTS:

The 23RD ANNUAL FIRSTGLANCE FILM FESTIVAL

FirstGlance Film Festival is another fest held in Philadelphia that I enjoy covering each year. Every Fest has to decide whether to do Virtual or figure out a safe way to do in-person. The producers of FirstGlance have decided to do a half n half:

November 10-15, 2020 is a Virtual Film Fest. (platform ItsaShort.com)

November 13-15, 2020 is in-person at the iconic Colonial Theatre (227 Bridge Street, Phoenixville, PA)

“It has been very challenging to plan an indie film festival during the COVID-19 pandemic. We wanted to continue our tradition of providing theatrical screenings to indie filmmakers for audiences who are comfortable going to the movies but also provide a virtual option for those people who prefer to watch from their couch. We’re able to do both this year with our partnerships with The Colonial Theatre and itsashort.com.

FirstGlance may end up being the only physical film festival in the Philadelphia-area this year and we’re happy to be working with the Colonial to make it happen. We’re especially looking forward to our move to the suburbs where we hope to partner with the Colonial Theatre to
build community around the festival, starting this year and extending through our 25th anniversary festival in 2022.” – Festival Founder Bill Ostroff

23rd Annual FirstGlance Film Festival Philadelphia 2020 Press Release

CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF FILMS
BEING SCREENED

OPENING NIGHT FILM

Horror, thriller, BAD CANDY
co-directed by Scott B. Hansen and Desiree Connell.

Bad Candy follows local Halloween stories of both myth and lessons learned in the community of New Salem. With its annual Psychotronic FM Halloween show, re-enactment radio DJs Chilly Billy and Paul weave the tales of the supernatural of years gone by. In this small town it’s a grimy ending for most, but will a few good souls survive?

FIRSTGLANCE VIRTUAL PANEL SESSIONS:

5 Questions Filmmaker Interviews Films Featured:

Band Ladies |Icarus | Kensington In Crisis | Marian Anderson | Monday | Progeny | Shepherd’s Gate | Woke

Other Festival highlights include films starring Alia Shawkat (Arrested Development, Search Party), Edin Gali (MadMen), Rebeca Robles (Better Things), Erika Soto (Vida), and Mark McCullough (Logan Lucky), a project with VFX led by Ingenuity Studios (MARVEL, HBO, NETFLIX, UNIVERSAL), a documentary with music direction by David Uosikkinen (The Hooters), and an animated film based on the renowned children’s book which has been educating young children about the Holocaust for generations, The Tattooed Torah, by Marvell Ginsburg.

The weekend event will include a closing night awards ceremony, unique screening programs, filmmaker interviews on the red carpet, and audience voting for “Best of the Fest.”

Congratulations and Welcome Official Selection Feature Film, The Reckoning Directed by Neil Marshall
to @FirstGlanceFilm #Philadelphia #FilmFestival #SupportIndieFilm #FilmTwitter #FGPA21 pic.twitter.com/btEiT92Pal
— FirstGlance Film Festivals (@FirstGlanceFilm) August 27, 2020

🙏 https://t.co/42gpwUZuuk
— Todd Wolfe (@iamtoddwolfe) August 27, 2020

Check out the trailer for Before We Go, screening at FirstGlance Philly Film Fest 23 This Fall!
Posted by FirstGlance Film Festivals (Hollywood, Philadelphia) on Friday, September 18, 2020

Congratulations and Welcome Official Selection, Kensington in Crisis Directed by @pjfrechie
to @FirstGlanceFilm #Philadelphia #filmfestival #SupportIndieFilm #FilmTwitter #FGPA23 pic.twitter.com/w5bfNLS7Q0
— FirstGlance Film Festivals (@FirstGlanceFilm) August 27, 2020

Congratulations and Welcome Official Selection, The One and Only Jewish Miss America @jewishmissamer Directed by David Arond
to @FirstGlanceFilm #Philadelphia #filmfestival #SupportIndieFilm #FilmTwitter #FGPA23 pic.twitter.com/zRuVCmsviv
— FirstGlance Film Festivals (@FirstGlanceFilm) August 27, 2020

Check out the trailer for Band Ladies screening at FirstGlance Philly Film Fest 23 This Fall!
Posted by FirstGlance Film Festivals (Hollywood, Philadelphia) on Friday, September 18, 2020

Congratulations and Welcome Official Selection, The Tattooed Torah Directed by Marc Bennett in Association with the @USCShoahFdn
to @FirstGlanceFilm #Philadelphia #FilmFestival #SupportIndieFilm #FilmTwitter #FGPA23 pic.twitter.com/GEhT7pPBBL
— FirstGlance Film Festivals (@FirstGlanceFilm) August 28, 2020

Check out the trailer for Kensington in Crisis, screening at FirstGlance Philly Film Fest 23 This Fall!
Posted by FirstGlance Film Festivals (Hollywood, Philadelphia) on Saturday, September 19, 2020

AND Many MORE Films …

FirstGlance Philadelphia 2020 Official Selections

FirstGlance Social Media: Twitter | Facebook | Youtube

ORIGINAL POST MAY 17, 2020

ATTENTION FILMMAKERS!
FirstGlance Film Festival, Philadelphia’s Independent Film Festival since 1996, opens call for entries for their
23^rd Annual event to be held October 2-4, 2020

Submit via FilmFreeway.com Horror, SciFi, Comedy, Drama…Everything Indie!

#SupportIndieFilm and help spread the word and share with any filmmakers you know!

(Local and International: Live Action and Animation accepted in every category)
Feature Film (over 60 min.)
Feature Documentary (over 45 min.)
Short Film (under 60 min.)
Shorts Too (under 10 min.)
Short Documentary (under 45 min.)
Student Shorts (under 20 min.)
Music Videos (under 7 min.)
Web Series Pilots (under 15 min.)
Animated Shorts (under 30 mins.)
Trailers (under 5 mins.)

FirstGlance awards over $40,000 in prizes and giveaways annually plus offers cash prizes to categories that receive over 200 entries, produces a live awards presentation and nominations in over 20 categories, Audience Choice in all categories, plus Best of Audience awards for each category, and BEST OF FEST award winners and a Special Shot in Philly Category that welcomes submissions produced and shot in the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania regions.

Additionally, semi-finalists in Shorts Categories are invited to take part in their Short Online Contest hosted by ItsAShort.com which has been running twice yearly for over 12 years alongside the physical festivals for the opportunity for one filmmaker to win over $2,000 in prizes and a screening spot at the next FirstGlance Festival.

For complete details and prize packages, visit http://firstglancefilms.com/callforentries/.

Twitter @FirstGlanceFilm