LA'S PREMIER NATIVE & INDIGENOUS FILM FESTIVAL
November 1st - 16th - Los Angeles 2025
Presented by Red Nation Celebration Institute The Creative Enterprise by Natives Delivering to All People the Stories that Shape our World.
Takes place every year as part of American Indian Heritage Month in the City of Los Angeles.
RNCI Sponsors & Partners Since Inception
News & Stories
Oscars Historic First: Academy Awards Acknowledge Native Indigenous Storytelling.
Awards Season kicks off each year with Native and Indigenous Representation at the 29th RNCI Red Nation Awards — as it rightfully should.
Oscar Contenders Spotlight Native Indigenous Storytellers at LA’s 29th Red Nation International Film Festival, November 8 – 16 at AMC The Grove
‘The Marching Band,’ ‘Souleyman’s Story’ Top Winners at American French Film Festival – Film News in Brief
Red Nation Celebration Institute
Red Nation Celebration Institute® (RNCI) The Creative Enterprise by Natives Delivering to All People the Stories that Shape our World. Red Nation Celebration Institute, the longest-standing Native women-led Indigenous media, arts, and cultural nonprofit enterprise in the history of the entertainment industry. It is the first Indigenous nonprofit to receive funding from the City of Los Angeles, serving over 575 Native Nations in the U.S. and a total of 1,200 globally. Headquartered in Los Angeles, with an additional office in Santa Fe, New Mexico, RNCI continues to drive meaningful representation and visibility for Native and Indigenous voices in media and the arts.
Founded and created by Joanelle Romero in 1995 and led by Native and Indigenous peoples. RNCI’s mission to break barriers of racism by creating systemic change through film television in all media in order to eliminate American Indian stereotypes. Our vision for the future of cinema and the arts is one in which Native Indigenous perspectives are authentically pictured, recognized, and valued in a way that promotes strong authentic Native identities, economic outcomes, equity, and wellness for our Indigenous communities.
L.A.’s Premier Native & Indigenous Film Festival
The Red Nation International Film Festival (#RNIFF) is the largest Native & Indigenous Film Festival in the world! The first of its kind in Los Angeles. Presented by RNCI annually in November. Empowering Native & Indigenous storytellers, since 1995.
Amplifying more than 5000+ Native and Indigenous content creators through its streaming company Red Nation Television Network, supporting 2855+ Native Indigenous filmmakers through its Red Nation International Film Festival, including films directed by women through its Native Women in Film & Television in All Media. In the past eight years RNIFF has screened 215 films directed by women.
Filmmakers include (short-list) Marie Clements, Danis Goulet, Sterlin Harjo, Loretta Todd, Alejandro González Iñárritu, James Bird, Elle-Máijá Tailfeathers, Kyle Kauwika Harris, Katsitsionni Fox, Daniel Foreman, Alba Enid García, Klee Benally, Jeffrey Palmer, Hepi Mita, Chelsea Winstanley, Taika Waititi.
A special acknowledgment to allies who have contributed to Native and Indigenous storytelling—through films screened at the Red Nation International Film Festival (RNIFF) or by serving as presenters at the RNCI Red Nation Awards: Christian Bale, Scott Cooper, Benicio del Toro, Rory Cochrane, Edward James Olmos, Rena Owen, Ed Begley Jr., Joely Fisher, Chloé Zhao, Taylor Sheridan, Joe Berlinger, Susanna White, Stephen S. Campanelli, Brigitte Timmerman, Deborah Anderson, Kathleen Hepburn, Joanne Storkan, Haroula Rose, Lesley Johnson, Chris Eyre, Jason George, Dolores Huerta, Mary McDonnell, Dan Aykroyd.
Los Angeles is home to the largest urban American Indian and Alaska Native population in the country, with over 200 tribes, including the original peoples of this land: the Tongva, Tataviam, and Chumash.
