Join us for the 25th Anniversary Celebration of FirstGlance Film Festival Philadelphia

Call for Entries Opens February 1st 2022
Our 25th Annual Film Festival will take place Oct 2022
at the Colonial Theatre Phoenixville PA

All Entry Fees for the 1st 25 days only $25.00

Philadelphia's Independent Film Festival since 1996
Horror, SciFi, Fantasy, Drama, Comedy...Everything INDIE!

$500 CASH PRIZE in every category that reaches 100 entries!

One of the 100 TOP RATED Film Festivals on FilmFreeway

Tweet when you enter your film so we can share your news with our almost 50K Followers ALL Official Selections receive social media marketing unlike any film festival on EARTH!

Accepting Drama, Comedy, Science Fiction, Horror, Fantasy, Action and all genres.

FirstGlance is an all inclusive diverse event open to all genres, from filmmakers of every gender, color, race, ethnicity, country, religion and skill level.

First time filmmakers to Professionals, from down the street to across the globe!
INDIE FILMMAKERS WANTED!!
Features, Shorts, Documentary, Animation, Live Action, Web Series, Music Videos, Original Concept Trailers, Student Films

The 25th Annual FirstGlance Philadelphia Film Festival screens local and international professional, first time, and student filmmakers, celebrating the best in indie film making from across the globe and locally produced Philadelphia Filmmakers

Screenings, Red Carpet, Live Awards Presentation and Nominations in over 25 categories and Audience Choice in ALL Categories!
Over 20 nominating categories for Official Selections, plus Best of Audience awards for each category, and BEST OF FEST award winner selected by the audience.

FirstGlance Film Festivals are the longest running international bi-coastal indie film festivals in the United States. FirstGlance has theatrically screened over 2200 films to over 200,000 attendees and has the most active Short Online Contest, having screened over 700 short films to over 200,000 online viewers and voters over the past 10 years.

FirstGlance Film Fests have a 99% track record with feature films over the past 10 years (Narrative and Documentary) acquiring Theatrical, Cable, VOD and Streaming Distribution.

FirstGlance has a deal to license science fiction and horror shorts and webseries for an amazing online streaming network, offering filmmakers a non exclusive, cash up front short term licensing deal.

Named 5 times as a Best Film Festival Investment by Moviemaker Magazine and named by Time Magazine as, "One of the Festivals for the Rest of Us" And Named One of FilmFreeway's Top 100 Film Festivals!

Due to the 2020/21 Pandemic and the loss of Physical events, revenue and business, we do no offer fee waivers.

Awards & Prizes

Best of Fest Award Winner prizes furnished by Red Giant, Boris FX, Showbiz Software, Glidecam, Final Draft, Jungle Software, Beachtek, Shot Lister, Ink Tip, Zacuto and more.

BONUS PRIZES: EVERY category that receives over 100 submissions, category winner will be awarded a $500 CASH PRIZE

Rules & Terms

Student entries must include copy of current semester bill and copy of student ID by email. All official selections will be notified of acceptance by E-mail. (Make sure your address is current) Accepted projects cannot be publicly exhibited in the Philadelphia area at any time within a one-month period (30 days) of the festival start date. If this occurs, FirstGlance has the right to refuse exhibition. After acceptance of projects, the entrant is free to publicize his/her work to any and all media she/he deems necessary. Please notify FirstGlance of any media support you receive. The undersigned entrant shall release, discharge, indemnify and hold harmless FirstGlance Films, and its agents, respective officers, directors, employees, representatives, contractors, partners, sponsors, and volunteers from and against any and all claims, liabilities, losses, damages, costs and expenses (including, without limitations, attorneys' fees). The undersigned entrant authorizes FirstGlance Film Festival, to promote the entry for any publicity purpose prior to, during, and after the competition. You agree to be bound by these guidelines and the decisions of the judges, which are final and binding in all respects and to waive any right to claim ambiguity in the contest or the rules. The signature of applicant constitutes that the entrants information is true and correct and agrees to all competition rules and guidelines. Disclaimer: If any categories submissions does not receive high enough scores from our screening committee, FirstGlance has the right to discontinue the category for a particular festival.
42 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Marvin Glover

    I am so honored to be selected to participate in this festival.

    November 2021
    Helpful
  • DRAMA HIGH

    I had a wonderful time at FirstGlance Film Festival! You can really tell that the festival wants to support indie filmmakers and filmmaking, and there were plenty of opportunities for filmmakers to network. The quality of films was also top-notch! Bill really took care of us, and for that I will always be thankful for. Thank you for having me and Drama High!

    October 2021
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  • Juan Pablo Reyes

    This is what a truly independent film festival feels like! This is my second film with FirstGlance: Philly and there's a reason why I keep going back. Bill and his team do an outstanding job of setting the stage: the quality of films and talent, is impressive! They put a lot of care in curating. You can tell they love movies! Held in the beautiful and hip town of Phoenixville, PA,; it's the perfect backdrop for this kind of event. The hospitality was amazing. The town and local businesses embraced all the filmmakers. You're surrounded by like minded artists. And they screen all the films at the historic Colony theater (look it up), how cool is that? I'm definitely coming back. Grateful to have been a part of the magic!

    October 2021
    Helpful
  • Matthew Kaufhold

    Excellent fest! Organized and communicative. Wonderful venue, great promotion and marketing.

    October 2021
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  • Robert DeSanti

    Thanks so much for accepting The Epilogue of Gregory Archambault. We won Best Editing and had two other nominations. The festival was very communicative throughout the entire process. I unfortunately wasn't able to make the festival this year but every step of the way from acceptance to post festival has been seamless. I have had friend in the past accepted and feel the same sentiment. Their process for voting was also the best I've seen for audience awards. They have a QR scanner pop up after and it prompts you immediately to a place to vote for the films. This is really important as voting is often hard to track down people or they forget which film is which in some of the blocks with more films.

    October 2021
    Helpful