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FirstGlance Philadelphia Film Festival Announces Call for Entries for 29th Annual Event New Submission Categories for 2026 Include AI, Animation, and International

Harry Johal

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FirstGlance Philadelphia Film Festival Announces Call for Entries for 29th Annual Event New Submission Categories for 2026 Include AI, Animation, and International


Philadelphia, PA, November 14, 2025 –(CarryOnHarry.com)– FirstGlance Film Festival, a leader in mid-sized film festivals and North America’s first bi-coastal festival held annually in Philadelphia and Los Angeles, is excited to announce its official call for entries for the annual Philadelphia Festival scheduled for May 7-10, 2026, at the Film Society Bourse, 400 Ranstead Street, Philadelphia, Pa. Filmmakers at all career levels from around the world are invited to submit their work for consideration in one of the most recognized events on the independent film festival circuit.

Entering its 29th year, FirstGlance continues its mission to spotlight original storytelling; connect filmmakers with audiences and fellow filmmakers; and support students, first-time, and professional independent filmmakers through their social media channels using the supportindiefilm hashtag.

Starting November 1, 2025, categories open for submission include live-action and animated films in all genres including horror, sci-fi, fantasy, drama, and comedy in every category.

Feature Film (over 45 min.)
Feature Documentary (over 45 min.)
Short Documentary (under 45 min.)
Short Film (under 45 min.)
Animated Shorts (under 30 min.)
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Shorts (under 30 min.)
Shorts Too (under 10 min.)
Student Shorts (under 25 min.)
Music Videos (under 7 min.)
Web Series Pilots (under 15 min.)
Trailers (under 5 min.)
International (under 30 min.)

Selected films will be showcased during the festival and will be eligible for a variety of awards in 25 nominating categories for Official Selections, plus Audience Choice in each category, BEST OF FEST awards, and a Special Shot in Philly Category that welcomes submissions produced and shot in the Philadelphia and Pennsylvania regions. Winners are announced at a live awards ceremony on closing night.

FirstGlance awards over $25,000 in prizes and giveaways annually. And, as a celebration of Philadelphia’s 250th Anniversary in 2026, FirstGlance will award a $250 cash prize to the Best of Fest winner. Additionally, for any category that reaches 250 entries, the winner will be awarded $250 cash prize.

Submissions open on November 1st exclusively via FilmFreeway at https://filmfreeway.com/FirstGlanceFilmFestivals.

FirstGlance Founder and Director Bill Ostroff said, “With more filmmakers using AI tools, we felt it was time to open up a call for entries for shorts in that category for our 2026 Philadelphia festival. We are also adding animation and international shorts to our growing list of submission categories to recognize world cinema directors who excel in filmmaking.”

Call for entries runs through February 2026. For rules, submission details, and prize packages, visit https://filmfreeway.com/FirstGlanceFilmFestivals.

Celebrating everything indie, FirstGlance Film Festival has grown and expanded to both coasts since its founding in 1996. To find out more about the FirstGlance Film Festival, please visit https://firstglancefilms.com/.

About FirstGlance Films
FirstGlance Films began in 1996 as an indie film festival in the basement of a small theater in Center City Philadelphia. FirstGlance Films has produced more than fifty festivals in Philadelphia and Los Angeles. In addition to producing its award-winning bi-coastal film festivals, FirstGlance promotes and champions indie filmmakers year-round using the supportindiefilm hashtag on social media. For more information, please visit firstglancefilms.com.



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Ex-XM Executive’s Memoir Recalls Satellite Radio Launch Delayed by 9/11

H Johal

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Ex-XM Executive’s Memoir Recalls Satellite Radio Launch Delayed by 9/11

Balle Balle Radio™ Entertainment Desk

Twenty-five years after the September 11 attacks postponed its debut, a founding XM executive has released a memoir about the satellite radio company’s launch. "They Pay for Water: Building XM Satellite Radio from a Paper Concept to Millions of Subscribers," by Dan Murphy, went on sale August 17 in ebook, paperback and hardcover, according to the announcement.

The company was set to launch its inaugural U.S. satellite radio service on September 12, 2001, in the Dallas/Fort Worth and San Diego markets. Murphy and the executive team flew out of Washington, D.C. in the early morning hours of September 11, per the announcement. The launch was pushed back, going live September 25 and expanding nationally by that November.

After joining Sony as a 24-year-old with minimal prior experience, Murphy spent 15 years helping to capitalize, build, and launch XM’s satellite infrastructure, create its receivers, and establish distribution channels in retail and automotive sectors., the announcement states. "After Walkman, Discman, I was looking to join the next big audio innovation when a recruiter called," Murphy said. "It sounded perfect. It was going to be radio the way it should be."

The volume addresses the company’s funding rounds, satellite deployment, distribution challenges across retail and automotive channels, programming strategy, customer economics, multiple Chapter 11 threats, and its ultimate acquisition by Sirius., according to the announcement. "We had spent years getting ready for the biggest launch of our careers, and then the country stopped," Murphy said. "For weeks afterward, I did not know whether anyone would still care about satellite radio."

Positioned as both corporate history and personal narrative, the book targets audiences seeking insight into the construction of major consumer-facing ventures requiring substantial capital investment. — a framing the announcement ties to ongoing debates in the audio industry over subscription economics. It is Murphy’s first book and is available now on Amazon.

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‘SALIGIA’ Inverts the Seven Deadly Sins: New Book Explores Virtues Through Mythological Fantasy

H Johal

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‘SALIGIA’ Inverts the Seven Deadly Sins: New Book Explores Virtues Through Mythological Fantasy

Balle Balle Radio Entertainment Desk

Author Tagore Almeida’s new book, “SALIGIA: The Evil Is Outside. The War Is Within.,” is now available on Amazon, according to the announcement promoting the release.

The title is not invented for the book. SALIGIA is a centuries-old Latin mnemonic device used in Christian theology to remember the seven deadly sins: Superbia (pride), Avaritia (greed), Luxuria (lust), Invidia (envy), Gula (gluttony), Ira (wrath) and Acedia (sloth). The sins themselves never appear as an explicit list in the Bible; the grouping developed within early Christian tradition, drawing on scattered biblical passages, and the acronym became a memory aid for clergy and laypeople alike. The announcement itself does not spell out this connection, though it’s central to how the book’s central conceit works.

Where the traditional mnemonic catalogs vices, Almeida’s book inverts it: according to the announcement, the story is structured as a journey through a symbolic ancestral dwelling with separate rooms, each embodying different virtues rather than sins — courage, compassion, humility, integrity, forgiveness, reverence and love. Other promotional material describes the book as a mythological fantasy following characters named Salem and Medea on a quest against the forces the title names, and credits the release to publisher The Alcove Publishers, which has described the book as blending mythology, self-reflection and mystery.

The announcement frames the project as “a fusion of mythological elements, spiritual themes, philosophical inquiry, and personal exploration,” built around the idea that readers already possess the virtues the book examines, rather than seeking them from external sources.

The book is currently listed for sale on Amazon under Almeida’s author page.

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