International film festival big draw for Dubuque

Just when you thought the Wild West couldn’t get any wilder, in steps producer George R.R. Martin and director/actor Vincent D’Onofrio with “Night of the Cooters,” imagining an 1880s Martian invasion at Pachuco, Texas.

Martin will be on hand when this 34-minute live action/computer graphics combo comes to the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival for two showings April 26 and 27. Several other team members will invade Dubuque, as well, for the screenings and audience Q&A sessions.

That’s a twist Susan Gorrell, the festival’s executive director, calls “super exciting” for the event running April 26 to 30 in various venues around Dubuque.

It will mark a homecoming for Martin, who taught at Dubuque’s Clarke College (now University) from 1976-78, then served as writer in residence from 1978-79, before his meteoric rise to fame when his fantasy series, “A Song of Ice and Fire,” gave rise to HBO’s power play, “Game of Thrones.”

Bringing the glitterati to town is part of the fun of this five-day festival, which regularly features filmmakers and stars in special appearances since beginning in 2012. It’s so hip that MovieMaker Magazine has dubbed it among “50 film festivals worth the entry fee.”

Festival offerings

This year’s festival features 39 world premieres and 18 U.S. premieres among the 180 projects by independent filmmakers from 18 countries. The field includes 103 shorts, 25 documentaries and 26 features, with 119 making their Iowa debuts.

Culled from 1,000 entries, the chosen projects range from comedies and dramas to horror, animation and documentaries.

Zombies had their day in the sun a few years back, and in addition to COVID themes, Gorrell, who watched all 1,000 submissions, saw thrillers rising to the top this year. But festival jurists and organizers have put together what Gorrell called “a nice mix” in genres from professionals and amateurs, including about a dozen in the Student Spotlight for ages 18 and up, and another dozen in the “Future Filmmakers” block for youths under age 18.

“As an artist, it starts when you’re young,” Gorrell said. A filmmaker with a husband and both sons in the industry, she’s thrilled to give young people the same opportunities “to be part of a festival and part of a community.”

Nowadays, when anyone with a smartphone can make a film, Gorrell noted the Dubuque festival continues to get “more of the higher production value.”

“That doesn’t necessarily mean financially, but the filmmakers have spent the time to put more into their sound or their lighting, their cast. You can still do that in an independent-type budget,” she said.

“I see a lot more shorts. I think short films are a way that filmmakers cannot have to spend as much, but do a great project and get into festivals — so we do have a lot of shorts. ... You can get away with a lot more. You could do a really cute short film on a phone. There’s just different things you can do with a short film than you could do with a feature (documentary).”

Dubuque draw

So why are filmmakers unveiling their work in Dubuque, instead of festivals in New York, Los Angeles, Sundance or higher-profile events at home and abroad?

“I think there's a couple of reasons,” said Gorrell, who lives in Dubuque. “I think the bigger ones have become so commercialized, political in the fact that maybe you have to know somebody or something like that (to get in).

“Honestly, it's word-of-mouth. The filmmakers that have come in the past have just done a great job spreading how amazing we are. And I think that people (are) really hoping to get in because they've heard how great we are to the filmmakers. We treat them well, and they want to be part of that.

“So I think it’s just a mix of all those things,” she said.

Building on the popularity of the premieres, starting next year, only films making their Iowa debut will be accepted, Gorrell noted.

The festival was put on hold in 2020, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, but returned the following year, and has continued to build momentum.

“We were one of the first large events in Iowa to go in-person, because it was right when the vaccine came out,” Gorrell said. “I was really surprised at the excitement at that time (with) people coming. And then last year for 2022, there was definitely more growth, even more excitement. ... I think people are just ready to enjoy things.”

About 6,000 people attended last year’s festival, and Gorrell is hoping that number will grow to 7,500 this year, as we continue to emerge from the pandemic.

“I think film is good for the soul,” she said. “Any form of the arts is very good for your mind and your spirit. You can sit there, watch, you don't have to worry about anything, you get into the film. And I think sometimes we just all need that. You need to have entertainment and enjoyment, whether it's laughing or crying or scared — it's still emotions, and you just need to have that.

“And then you can have this conversation at a film festival with the other audience and the filmmakers. That’s a great thing.”

With more than 50 percent of the filmmakers — and even perhaps 60- to 70 percent — coming to the festival, audiences will have lots of opportunities to hear from them during Q&A discussions. Ticketed parties, free panels, workshops and networking are bonuses, too, for audiences and other filmmakers.

Workshops topics include writing tips, film financing and how to make sales pitches.

“They're interesting to listen to,” Gorrell said of these learning sessions. “Maybe you're not a filmmaker, but you could still come in here and listen. It's interesting to see how the process of filming or financing is done.”

Comments: (319) 368-8508; diana.nollen@thegazette.com