LA Skins Fest turns 20 this year. The Native American film festival returns to Hollywood November 18 to 22, 2026, with five days of films, industry events, and community at the TCL Chinese Theatre. The festival calls itself the largest Native American film festival in the United States.
The films themselves have not been announced yet. What is posted so far is the date, the venue, the award categories, and a lot of history. Here is where things stand as of September 28, 2026.
The quick version
| When | Wednesday, November 18, through Sunday, November 22, 2026 |
| Where | TCL Chinese Theatre, Hollywood. The festival’s venue listing gives TCL Chinese 6 Theatres, 6801 Hollywood Blvd., 3rd level, Hollywood, CA 90028 |
| Edition | 20th |
| Highlights | The 15th Annual Native Media Awards Ceremony, feature, documentary, short, and animation screenings, plus industry panels |
| Tickets | Not yet announced |
| Official site | laskinsfest.com |
What’s screening
The program is still under wraps. The festival says it will show feature films, documentaries, short films, animation, television projects, and emerging media created by Native storytellers, and that it is expanding its screening series this year to make room for more work.
Selected films compete for awards in these categories, per the 2026 call for entries: Achievement in Narrative Filmmaking, Documentary, Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Animation, Writer, Director, Actor, Actress, and an Audience Award. Winners are honored at the 15th Annual Native Media Awards Ceremony during the festival.
Beyond the screenings
A big part of LA Skins Fest happens off the screen. The festival describes a week of panels, filmmaker discussions, networking receptions, and special events with studios, streamers, production companies, talent agencies, and executives. Its 2026 sponsor list includes Comcast NBCUniversal, Amazon MGM Studios, the Motion Picture Association, Paramount TV Studios, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Creative Artists Agency, SAGindie, Bad Robot, and the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma, among others.
The festival is an initiative of the Barcid Foundation, a Native American nonprofit, and it calls itself 100% Native led. Ian Skorodin is the founder, and Patricia Gomes is the festival director.
Twenty years in a few lines
- Founded: 2007, which makes 2026 the 20th edition.
- Home: the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood.
- Year round: the same organizers run development programs such as the Native American Feature Film Writers Lab, now in its 9th year, and the Native American Animation Lab, now in its 8th.
How to plan
- Watch the schedule page. Screenings and events will post on the festival’s film festival schedule page. As of this writing that page still shows an older program, so go by the dates on any listing before you plan around it.
- Free events are common. In past editions, many panels and filmmaker Q&As were free with registration. Whether that holds for 2026 has not been announced.
- Questions: the festival’s contact address is contact@laskinsfest.com.
Venue
The festival’s own venue listing names the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres at 6801 Hollywood Blvd., 3rd level, Hollywood, CA 90028. Its FilmFreeway page lists the TCL Chinese Theatre at 6925 Hollywood Blvd. Check your ticket for the exact auditorium once the schedule is out.
Still to come
The film lineup, screening schedule, ticket prices, passes, parking and transit details, and accessibility information have not been announced. The 824 Journal will update this guide when they are released.
Sources
- LA Skins Fest: 20th Annual LA Skins Fest Save the Date!
- LA Skins Fest: 20th Annual LA Skins Fest Announces Call for Film Submissions (award categories, Barcid Foundation, venue listing)
- Los Angeles Skins Film Festival on FilmFreeway (dates, organizers, venue)
- LA Skins Fest: Film Festival Schedule (past-edition format)
Featured photo: Carol M. Highsmith via Wikimedia Commons, Public domain
