Jay Silverman’s “Ale,” Adam Helsel’s “Tender” and Andrew David Patterson’s “American Flake” are among the titles scheduled to screen during Dances with Films: LA.
Dance with Film, Los Angeles’ largest independent film-focused festival, will run from June 18th to 28th, with screenings and events at the TCL Chinese Theater.
Dances With Films’ 2026 lineup includes 279 films, including 41 narrative features, 17 documentary features, four late-night features, 33 TV and streaming pilots, and 184 short films.
Silberman’s “Ale,” starring Kevin Dunn and Rachel Harris, will open the festival, and Helsel’s “Tender,” starring Jesse Garcia, Jess Weixler, David Koechner, and Robert Longstreet, will close the festival.
Other narrative works include “Angeleno” by Jay Diaz, “Bandit” by Brian L. Tan, “Coin” by John Brownell, “Fractured” by Mädchen Amick, and “Good Thoughts” by Rachel Carey. Feature-length documentaries premiering at Dances With Films include Kahn Konwiser’s Autumn, David Booth Gardner’s The Last Place on Earth, Beatrix Lyle’s My Name is Gitta, and Jordan Kronick’s Peaking: Psychedelics and the Pursuit of Happiness.
“For nearly 30 years, Dances With Films has showcased ‘the power of independent film.’ This year’s lineup is packed with unique and diverse voices from filmmakers who work outside the studio system and without the benefit of larger budgets, and will entertain and amaze film lovers with the cinematic magic for which DWF is well known,” said Dances With Films founders Leslee Scallon and Michael Trent. “As always, we couldn’t be more excited to showcase all of this at the TCL Chinese Theater in the heart of Hollywood, connecting filmmakers with audiences, film distributors and other industry veterans in the best way possible.”
