The Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (JDIFF) is celebrating its 15th anniversary by stepping up its offerings. Beginning this year, it will expand from five days to eight, firmly securing its spot as Iowa’s largest — and longest — film festival.
The 2026 festival takes place April 18-25 and features independent films from all over the world. JDIFF Executive Director Susan Gorrell said her team selected over 200 films for this year’s program from more than 1,300 submissions.
The majority of the films are Iowa premieres, and there are also several world premieres on the schedule. The lineup includes about 30 narrative features and 30 documentaries, with shorts making up the rest of the screenings.
Apart from seeing films, festival attendees can sit in on coffee talks with filmmakers, workshops and panel discussions with industry professionals. This year, the festival is expecting to welcome over 400 filmmakers in person.
Most of the events are held in downtown Dubuque and within walking distance of one another. A shuttle service is also available for festivalgoers. The festival’s footprint spreads across 10 locations, including two venues in the neighboring town of Galena, Ill.
More than 7,500 people attended the festival last year; but now that JDIFF is bigger than ever, Gorrell is expecting the 2026 edition to draw a record number of attendees.
“It's just a great time to see wonderful, independent film and meet people from all over the world,” she said. “If you've never been to a film festival, this is the one to go to, in Iowa especially.”
Iowa opera singer Simon Estes brings documentary to Dubuque
One of the standout films Gorrell is excited for audiences to see is a documentary about the famous Iowa opera singer Simon Estes.
Estes, who was born in Centerville in 1938, became an internationally renowned opera singer and shattered the color barrier for Black men in opera in the mid-20th century.
Simon Estes: A Heart & A Voice chronicles his early life, career and humanitarian work. Estes and filmmaker Steve Schott will be at JDIFF on April 19 to present their film and participate in a morning coffee talk.
During an interview on Talk of Iowa in October, Estes revealed that the documentary has been a long time coming.
“People have been asking me for years to do a documentary or write a book, and I was so busy I never got around to it,” he said. “Then, in the latter years, I decided I really should try to do something with the documentary.”
Estes said he met with several people who were interested in making a movie about him; but it wasn’t until he was introduced to Schott that he felt he found the right person.
“We had, immediately, a bonding that took place, and we decided that we would work together and we would do a documentary about my life,” Estes said. “In that I came from a slave situation up to where I am today, it's a very interesting story and journey.”
The making of the documentary presented Schott with many challenges, the COVID-19 pandemic being one of them. With production paused for two years beginning in 2020, securing interviews had proved to be a problem, especially because so many of the now 88-year-old’s contemporaries were no longer alive to share their stories. In the end, Schott interviewed over 65 people for the documentary.
“We want people all over the world to see this because his story is so powerful,” Schott said. “But even more powerful is his message that we really hit on in the documentary, of we are really one race — the human race — and we can all do better.”
As the title suggests, Estes hopes the power of his story — and his voice — inspires people to practice love and spread kindness.
“We hope that this documentary really touches lots of people's hearts, to get people to love each other through music and through acting and through the profession of opera,” Estes added.
Sharing local stories and ‘Made in Iowa’ films
Spotlighting Iowa stories and locally made films is a cornerstone for JDIFF, according to Gorrell. The executive director got her start at the festival during its inaugural year in 2012 with A Million Spokes, a documentary about RAGBRAI — a quintessential Iowa experience — and took home the award for Best Iowa Film.
Gorrell, who has been heading operations at JDIFF for the past 12 years, has made a point to foster a love for local filmmaking within the community. She said the annual celebration of cinema is so much more than simply watching movies.
“The festival isn't just about watching the film; it's about being there and meeting the filmmakers and communicating, and it's being together to watch these films,” Gorrell said.
One filmmaker who’s proud to call Iowa home and to present his latest feature at JDIFF is Tim Connery. The Dubuque-based director has attended the festival for over a decade and has brought both of his feature films there in the past.
This year, he’s back with The Driftless, a horror film that weaves together four disturbing and distinctly Midwestern tales of terror. It will have its Iowa premiere on April 21.
“I live in Dubuque, so being able to bring a third feature back home and share it with a hometown audience always means a lot,” Connery said. “There’s something different about screening here compared to anywhere else because these are the people and places that shaped the film in the first place.”
Connery is participating in a coffee talk session and a panel called “Navigating Filmmaking in Iowa” with his collaborator, Des Moines-based filmmaker Kristian Day, and Jacob Daniels, founder of MediaVerse Studios. Their conversation is one of several free sessions at the festival.
Connery said he appreciates how this festival has helped shape him as a filmmaker over the years. He’s also glad to see how much it has grown from a local event to a well-known and respected destination.
“I’ve had the chance to grow alongside JDIFF as it's expanded and gained recognition,” he said. “It’s been really rewarding to come back with each project at a different stage in my career, and being here again now feels especially meaningful.”
As one of a dozen local filmmakers featured in this year’s program, Connery is not alone in his gratitude for the JDIFF community. In fact, filmmakers from the “Made In Iowa” category and from across the world have shared how much it means to them to be a part of the festival.
Passes and tickets are on sale now and will be available throughout the week-long event. Organizers encourage attendees to purchase tickets in advance so they can secure spots in their selected screenings.
The festival closes with an awards night on April 25, where 16 films will take home prizes awarded by genre.
