Entries are officially being accepted for the 14th Annual LA SKINS FEST presented by COMCAST NBCUniversal. Festival will be taking November 17th - 22nd, 2020 in Hollywood, CA.

The LA SKINS FEST will celebrate filmmakers whose original works are distinguished and offer a new voice in cinema. Films accepted in the festival will be eligible for the competition and prizes from our corporate sponsors. This year, awards will be given to the following categories: Achievement in Narrative Filmmaking, Documentary, Narrative Short, Documentary Short, Animation, Writer, Director, Actor, Actress and Audience Award.

Once again, this year’s festival will offer a week long series of events throughout Hollywood. The film festival will premier exciting new Indigenous films, present the 7th Annual Native Media Awards Celebration, provide the 8th Writers Pitch Workshop and host Native American filmmakers from throughout North and South America.

Corporate support of the LA SKINS FEST plays an essential role in the life of the festival and emphasizes the festival’s commitment to quality, exploration, and excellence in the art of cinema, TV and new media. The Los Angeles Skins Fest is privileged to partner with some of the world’s most renowned entertainment brands this year; including Comcast NBCUniversal, Walt Disney Studios, Bank of America, San Manuel Band of Mission Indians, Bad Robot, Motion Picture Association, Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Cast & Crew, Google American Indian Network, STARZ, Snowpants Productions, Kung Fu Monkey Productions, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs, Final Draft, and City of Los Angeles Councilmember Mitch O’Farrell.

About The LA SKINS FEST

The Festival is an initiative of the Native American non-profit the Barcid Foundation and aims to showcase the rising talent in Native American filmmaking. This year the LA SKINS FEST is expanding the screening series to accommodate the growing talent in Indian Country.

The prestigious LA SKINS FEST ranks among the country’s best film festivals and is an annual gathering for film industry insiders, cinema enthusiasts, filmmakers, and critics. The LA Skins Fest is considered a major launching ground for Indian Country’s most talked about films. Founded in 2007, the Los Angeles Skins Fest, presented in the historic TCL Chinese Theatre in Hollywood, is a 6-day multicultural event celebrating the art of film, TV and new media. The Los Angeles Skins Fest’s long‐standing commitment is to join filmmakers and film connoisseurs together to experience great cinema. The exciting schedule consists of dozens of filmmakers presenting their newest works, special artist development programs, tributes to community leaders, special events, and remarkable films. Festival headquarters are in Los Angeles, CA.

Awards & Prizes

The LA SKINS FEST will celebrate filmmakers whose original works is distinguished in their category. A pre-screening committee will select four finalists in each category after viewing all selected to be part of the competition. Awards will be given the following categories:

Best Narrative
Best Documentary
Best Narrative Short
Best Documentary Short
Best Animation
Audience Award
Emerging Filmmaker
Best Actor
Best Actress
Best Director
Best Writer

Films accepted in the festival will be eligible for competition and award prices.

Rules & Terms

1) Entries must be by/or have a Native American/First Nation/Indigenous artist involved in the project (Please include tribal affiliation).

2) Films must NOT have other screenings scheduled in Los Angeles during November 2020.

3) We accept films made by non-Native American filmmaker but the films must be Native American themed.

4) Films must not be available on the Internet or have been broadcast nationally on cable or satellite television prior to the festival screening.

5) Works must be made within the past two years

6) Films in languages other than English with English subtitles will be accepted for consideration.
25 Reviews
Overall Rating
Quality
Value
Communication
Hospitality
Networking
  • Renee Schwartz

    Overall the experience was great. I would say that the liaisons running each category were often scattered and had a hard time answering some questions we had/keeping us up to date. I understand that a lot of them are working across multiple areas in the festival so it's not a major drawback. Just something I noticed! Overall it was a very enjoyable and rewarding experience.

    June 2020
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  • Sam Vinal

    Wether you are interested in screening your project or just wanting to enjoy some well done Indie Film, LA SKINS FESTIVAL is a top notch, well thought out and organized place to do it. Supporting Native Americans in film, LA SKINS is trailblazing artists into main stream conversations and they are doing it with style while showing films in theaters that would blow knock your respective socks off! This years Opening Night screenings took place at the Academy of Motion Pictures very own, Linwood Dunn Theater. Epic night! Included in the festival was a panel on Writers Pitching Projects followed by live script readings. (I am a big time panel junkie!) The event took place in a great space and offered bits of valuable knowledge from legitimate sources and had that safe collaborative feeling festivals strive for. Great job LA SKINS! Look forward to your 14th festival in 2020.

    December 2019
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  • Katie Avery

    The support from LA Skins Fest has been incredible!! The festival was well organized, and the venues are some of the best in LA. It was amazing to see our film projected at the Academy theater and was an honor to play with great films representing Native cinema. The festival showcased really good programming and offered networking opportunities that make this festival special. It was clear that everyone involved with Skins Fest was really invested in supporting and lifting up filmmakers and making sure we had the best experience possible. I highly recommend participating in LA Skins Fest in any way you can!

    December 2019
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  • Michelle Hernandez

    This year's festival was a wonderful experience! Easy communication and well organized from top to bottom. Probably one of the biggest highlights for me was our film being shown at The Academy in a sold-out screening. Would recommend everyone to submit their films to this festival for next year. Thank you Ian and Patty!

    December 2019
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  • Santho Goonewardene

    I absolutely LOVED my experience at SKINS Fest. The festival was run really well and the organizers were kind, patient and so welcoming. Their screening spaces are both the best locations in Los Angeles. We were lucky to screen on opening night at The Academy theater and everything ran really smoothly and we had a great Q&A after as well. It was a great surprise that the actress in my short won Achievement in Acting at the awards ceremony so I absolutely recommend attending that on closing night as well because we had no idea we were even up for that category. Couldn't have had a better time at the fest and I absolutely recommend submitting to them.

    December 2019
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