New Film Voices Gather in the Welcoming Midwest
At the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival truly independent projects take precedence while hospitality builds an enviable fanbase.
Tucked away past the vast cornfields that cover large swaths of Iowa’s territory is the quietly picturesque city of Dubuque. Flanked by the mighty Mississippi River, with the states of Illinois and Wisconsin visible on the other shore, this unassuming Midwestern town has diligently become a notable place for showcasing truly independent cinema.
For the last 14 years, it’s been home to the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, or J-DIFF, as staff and attendees often refer to the annual gathering that brings together storytellers from around the United States, as well as a few international guests.
Often the films that grace Dubuque’s screens haven’t premiered at renowned launchpads like the Sundance Film Festival or South by Southwest, but instead have found a path to being seen through opportunities provide by the circuit of humbler, regional fests.
These are movies that, for the most part, don’t have major stars among their casts.
They exist in a separate space ripe for discovery, and yet are often dismissed because the production values may not be as polished as their counterparts at bigger festivals. One could argue that it’s precisely because these films don’t have the stamp of approval of prominent gatekeepers that makes them wild cards prone to surprise viewers.
Most of what makes JDIFF a singular event for filmmakers and film lovers happens, however, at its headquarters: the Hotel Julien, a 19th century establishment. There, Susan Gorrell, the executive director who took over the festival over a decade ago, has invested resources into implementing a simple, but effective community-building plan: offering breakfast, lunch, and dinner for free to all invited guests and staff for the fest’s duration.
The result of having these meals available in the hotel where most people are staying at specific times throughout the day is a summer camp-like atmosphere. Filmmakers get to meet their contemporaries and share about their current and future projects over pancakes or pasta. Day in and day out, everyone gathers in the dining hall strengthening these newly formed bonds as the week goes on. After food, people head out to watch movies, and then meet back again at the hotel to discuss what they’ve seen over their next heaping plate.
More than two dozen features and over 100 short films screened at venues ranging from the emblematic Five Flags Theater, also around since the mid-1800s, to a modern multiplex a couple miles away where the reclining seats have heating capabilities. Local audiences joined visitors in appreciating the wide range of genres presented.
From the hard-to-stomach, mostly French-language drama “Nothing Wrong” (Rien De Mal) from Montreal filmmaker Samuel Plante, about two sisters grappling with the aftermath of an unthinkable revelation, to the heartwarming, father-daughter camping dramedy drenched in saturated colors “Piggy Duster” by Jesse Stewart.
Considering that most of the features in the festival were produced through economical means, with the filmmakers themselves often putting their own funds on the line, it was fascinating to see that several of these productions were distinct science fiction narratives.
One of these, Eric Esau’s “Saturn” tells of an ancient being with access to technology to time travel across the universe that he can use to save humanity from extinction. Then there’s
Evan Matthews’s “Motherland,” a retrofuturism-laced vision of a reality where women no longer experience motherhood as child-rearing has become a communal affair in affair to achieve fairness. Meanwhile, Caden Butera’s ambitious “Recollection” imagines a future where it’s possible for people to extract painful memories from their minds.
Several filmmakers, such as Jillian Corsie, the producer of the immigration documentary “Desert Angel,” have been to JDIFF more than once. What brings them back to Dubuque, aside from the opportunity to screen their work, is the people that run it so warmly.
JDIFF, after all, is a family affair. Gorrell’s father and brother are in charge of all technology related matters. Her mother, an Irish woman, is a constant presence at the festival whose main task is directing the awards ceremony. While Gorrell’s son, Brandon Gorrell, was seen before every screening starring in a sketch to humorously thank the sponsors.
There’s a homeyness, so to speak, to the festival. Rather than an unapproachable, celebrity driven affair, the experience feels akin to joining an established group friends and being welcomed with the same sincerity that a lifelong pal would be. The appeal of the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival is in how nurturing it is for everyone in attendance.
Carlos Aguilar
©FIPRESCI 2025