COFFEE TALKS

HOTEL JULIEN DUBUQUE RIVER ROOM

THURSDAY
APRIL 25TH

GUEST TBA
10:00AM

FRIDAY
APRIL 26TH

TESS HIGGINS & REBECCA WAHLS
10:00AM

Bring your coffee and join us for a casual conversation hosted by John B Donovan with our guests Tess Higgins & Rebecca Wahls from JDIFF Official selection HIM

Rebecca Wahls (she/her) is a catalytic leader who tells ensemble stories about the formation of family and the romance of friendship. She directs, writes, and produces film, theatre, and new media. Her first feature film, Him,  premiered at the Sedona International Film Festival. She has served as Artistic Associate for Acting for Young People since 2015, where she has directed and written over 50 plays for children. In 2017, she founded the non-profit theatre Who What Where Productions, where she produced and directed world premiere play Spills by Ruthie Rado, which has since run in NYC and London. Other favorite projects include socially distant webseries Rebecca and Becca in Space; Memory Card, a live digital horror play; and this old haunt, a new musical co-created with Maggie Marie Rodgers, SMJ, and Dillon Feldman. MFA, Carnegie Mellon University (John Wells Fellow). BFA, George Mason University. She is also a TEDx speaker. rebeccawahls.com

Tess Higgins is a house team improv performer at the Upright Citizen‘s Brigade, a member of SAG-AFTRA, AEA, and a writer based in Los Angeles. After working in professional musical theater for five years in Washington D.C., she began pursuing comedy and film in LA. Her training comes from The College of William and Mary and The London Dramatic Academy. She has appeared in numerous indie comedies and shorts, including the 2021 dark comedy Kringle Time.

SATURDAY
APRIL 27TH

JAY SILVERMAN
10:30AM

Bring your coffee and join us for a casual conversation hosted by John B Donovan and CAMERA Director, Jay Silverman.

Jay Silverman has excelled as a leading Director and Producer specializing in award-winning film and television.

“Camera” marks Jay Silverman’s fourth original feature film. His first was the multi-award winning dramatic feature “Girl on the Edge”, starring Peter Coyote, Taylor Spreitler, Mackenzie Phillips, Elizabeth Peňa, Gil Bellows, Rex Lee, Amy Davidson a,

and Amy Price Francis that premiered on Showtime. His second is the charming romantic comedy “Off the Menu” starring Dania Ramirez, Tony Award Winner Santino Fontana, Makenzie Moss, and Maria Conchita Alonso, currently playing on HBO & Amazon. His third is the true story drama “Saving Paradise” starring William Moseley, Johnna Braddy, Mary Pat Gleason, Bill Cobbs, Paul Dooley, and James Eckhouse currently on Tubi and Amazon. Jay also Co-Created and Executive Produced A&E’s “The Cleaner”, starring Benjamin Bratt, an hour-long drama based on a real-life interventionist who uses unorthodox methods to save the lives of those who battle addictions. Jay lives and works in Los Angeles and has three daughters.

SUNDAY
APRIL 28TH

LEE ROSS
11:00AM

Bring your coffee and join us for a casual conversation hosted by John B Donovan with our guest Lee Ross

Lee Ross began his career as a mime in front of the Metropolitan Museum on fifth Avenue before moving to Paris for further movement theater studies, eventually landing him the lead clown role in Cirque du Soleil’s hit show Saltimbanco.

As a screen writer Lee’s first feature, Downloading Nancy, went to Sundance with Maria Bello & Jason Patric in 2008, directed by Emmy winner of HBO Chernobyl. Since then Lee has written and produced a half dozen award winning short films as well as his second feature, a dark comedy, Benjamin Troubles  Currently, Lee has several projects in development, including director John Leonetti, attached to Concrete Jungle, 2025.

THE JDIFF JURY AND SELECTION PROCESS
1:00pm

Hear from the JDIFF Jurors and Executive Director Susan Gorrell on their selection process and any other festival questions you may have. What helps or hinders your film from being selected? What are the deciding factors for winning and being selected? All the questions you are dying to ask, you now have that opportunity. Two of our Five jury members will join us for this panel to discuss their process

Greg Hamilton has been a Film Programmer / Curator in the Pacific Northwest for the last 15 years, where he has hosted regional premieres, retrospectives and revivals of classic films. 

Gilbert Khoury is a film director based in Toronto and jury member at various prestigious film festivals including the Annual Daytime Emmy Awards and other Oscar qualifying festivals.