thursday
APRIL 23rd
SAGIndie Low Budget Contract Workshop
11:30 AM, Holiday Inn Clairon Room, $5
SAGindie is a free educational resource that assists independent producers with getting their films made at a professional level. Perfect for beginners, join us for this workshop and learn about the process involved in hiring professional actors for your indie film. Topics that will be covered include:
A guide through the SAG-AFTRA signatory process
A breakdown of the details and costs of various low-budget agreements (Micro-Budget, Student, Short, Ultra/Moderate/Low Budget Project Agreements)
Best practices and helpful tips for indie producers
About Eliza:
Eliza Hajek is an LA-based writer/producer in addition to Manager of Development and Sponsorship at SAGindie. Her duties with SAGindie include traveling to film festivals, speaking on panels and at seminars, and interacting with independent producers worldwide in order to demystify the SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Agreements.
Fireside Chat with Festival Formula Encore
2:00 PM, HOLIDAY INN CLARION ROOM, FREE
Meet Katie Bignell & Ian Bignell. As Your Friendly Festival Strategist Anything You Want!
About Katie:
Katie graduated from Bournemouth Media School in Scriptwriting for Film & TV and is also a graduate of the London Royal Court Writer Groups. She founded Festival Formula in 2014 after spotting a gap in the festival knowledge of filmmakers around film festivals. With 20+ years experience behind it they are providing strategy support to filmmakers world-wide. They're active members of the Short Film Conference and the Film Festival Alliance. Katie is also a key spokesperson on festival issues with coverage in The Hollywood Reporter and Screen Daily regarding suspect and fraudulent film festivals. She co-created the Filmmaker Lounge in partnership with Film Festival Alliance – an online space for programmers and filmmakers to discuss their roles. In 2026 she is the Festival Expert in the inaugural online education programm launched by University of Exeter in conjunction with David Putnam’s Atticus Education and Screen International.
About Ian:
Ian is a Film Festival Strategist at Festival Formula. He watches films that come into the company, providing impartial feedback on how they best fit into the worldwide film festival circuit. Drawing on his wisdom as the companies previous Submissions Coordinator, he has expert insight into the circuit and uses it to create bespoke festival strategies. Behind the scenes, he is the companies go-to nerd for technical help on anything from codecs to subtitles. Away from the desk, you will often find him at film festivals worldwide as an industry guest, sharing his expertise and giving honest advice. e was the co-recipient of the Pioneering Spirit Award alongside his wife Katie Bignell which was awarded by Heartland Film, and also received the award for Outstanding Contribution to Film from London Breeze Film Festival both in 2024. The company received the Impact Award from Poppy Jasper International Film Festival in 2025.
Navigating Filmmaking in Iowa Panel
4:30 PM, Holiday Inn Clarion Room, Free
Iowa Filmmakers Tim Connery, Kristian Day, and Jacob Daniels of MediaVerse Studios will talk about their experiences and offer insight to filmmaking here.
About Tim:
Tim Connery is a Midwestern producer, writer, and director. After earning his bachelor's degree in filmmaking at Columbia College Chicago in 2009, he moved to Iowa. He produced his first feature, Black Web (2012), which premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival and the Fantasia Film Festival in Montreal. That success led to a sustained career in commercial filmmaking. He later produced the horror-comedy Death to Metal (2021), which garnered national attention from outlets such as The New York Times and Bloody Disgusting. His latest feature, The Driftless (2025), is playing at JDIFF this year and has won awards in England, New York City, San Francisco, and beyond.
About Kristian:
Kristian Day has spent his career working in a variety of below- and above-the-line roles on narrative, unscripted, and commercial TV and film. As Kristian moved up in the film industry, he stayed dedicated to the stories he felt passionate about. While working in production management and field producing for networks including ABC, Max, Hulu, and PBS, he also produced and directed his own projects that focused on underrepresented voices, identity, and Midwestern life.
In 2022, Day collaborated with director Dylan Sires to create the true crime series Taken Together: Who Killed Lyric and Elizabeth?, which premiered on MAX in 2024. The two also created the feature-length documentary, Chiefsaholic, for Amazon Studios. It was nominated for Outstanding Long Documentary at the 2025 Sports Emmy Awards. Kristian’s original show, The Last American Gay Bar, a six-episode limited series about the fall of gay bars and loss of identity in the LGTBQ+ community, premiered on OUTtv in 2024. Kristian hosts the long running independent radio show and podcast, Iowa Basement Tapes.
He is a member of the Producers Guild of America, Tthe Location Managers Guild International and IATSE Local 111.
About Jake:
Jake is a multidisciplinary human with a passion for telling great stories and developing new skills. He started his filmmaking journey in 2020 and fell in love with the craft and all of the new challenges and passion it brought him.
He founded Mediaverse Studios with the goal of providing resources and development to the entire midwest filmmaking community. He's thrilled that the community has received it well and is extremely grateful for the brilliance, creativity, and hard work his team brings to the table every day.
Friday
APRIL 24th
Comedy Writing
12:00 PM, Holiday Inn Clarion Room, Free
Comedy writer/performer/actor Andy Sipes will share some of his tips and tricks for comedy writing.
About Andy:
Andy Sipes is a writer and showrunner with a rich comedy background, having worked extensively in adult animation (ARCHER, UNSUPERVISED, CHOZEN). Andy co-created and wrote the pilot THINK TANK for 20th Century Fox as well as the animated cult-classic series CODE MONKEYS on G4TV. He was a writer/performer on the late-night talk show LAST CALL WITH CARSON DALY and studied improv at Upright Citizens Brigade in Los Angeles. He created and produced two digital series for Adult Swim, wrote the pilot BULLSYEYE for Comedy Central, and created several projects for Comedy Central's animated anthology series, TRIPTANK (where he also served as showrunner.) He created Triptank’s reoccurring animated sketch SUCK IT, GARY, starring Paul Reiser, which was optioned by Comedy Central to series. He also developed the the stop-motion animated series HAPPY CITY at Amazon Prime. In features, he co-wrote the indie film SUPERCON starring John Malkovich which was bought and released theatrically by Sony Pictures Entertainment. Recently, Andy was writer/showrunner and executive producer for the animated series DALLAS & ROBO starring John Cena and Kat Dennings on SyFy Network and YouTube Premium. He currently has several projects in development including MODERN ROGUES with Titan1 Entertainment, and SUMMER VS. WINTER, with Dichotomy Creative Group and ShadowMachine. Andy is repped by Ari Lubet at 3Arts Entertainment.
Bookstore Sessions - From the Written Word to the Screen
2:30 PM, Riverlights Bookstore, Free
Panelists Chen Dracman, Kelsey Burdick, and Greg Kasunich will discuss cinematic adaptations originating from books, graphic novels, and even letters.
About Chen:
Chen Drachman is an Israeli-American, award-winning actress and filmmaker based in NYC. She was a film and TV major in high school in Israel, specializing in scriptwriting, producing, and editing.
Chen’s first film, THE BOOK OF RUTH, starring Tony and Emmy Awards nominee Tovah Feldshuh, as been in numerous festival in the US and abroad, including the Academy Awards Qualifying Cinequest and BOBHOSHORTS, the Canadian Screen Award qualifying Vancouver International Film Festival, and more. Since it concluded its run at the festival circuit, it has had more than 150K views online through Omeleto. Her second film, BUT I’M A SHOE, starring The Legend or Korra’s Janet Varney, screened at St. Louis International Film Festival, CineLebu, and is set to screen in festivals throughout 2026. Her newest short script, BLOOD AND SEX OVER AMBITION, was a quarter finalist at the HollyShorts script competition and a semi-finalist at the Flicker’s Rhode Island International Film Festival script competition. It has recently won the Inwood Art Works annual production grant.
Chen is currently developing three features. Her writing was also featured on AfterEllen and CBR.com. She’s an advisory board member of Inwood Art Works, and as a production consultant, she helped produce theater films and a variety of event of different scales.
About Kelsey:
Kelsey Burdick is a screenwriter and producer from Frisco, Texas, with roots in marketing, PR and sports broadcasting. She pulls a lot of her creative spark from literary fiction, especially the works of Haruki Murakami and Osamu Dazai.
She gravitates toward psychological thrillers, fantasy, and stories that aren’t afraid to sit with death, transformation, and the strange corners of the human mind. Mostly, she just loves building worlds that make other writers say, “Oh, I want to play in that sandbox too.
About Gregory:
Gregory JM Kasunich is a filmmaker, photographer, producer, writer. His career started on Fall Out Boy's tour bus filming a pilot for MTV. That little stint lead to a number of docu-series pilots that never made it to air including one about Mario Lopez's San Fernando Valley Salsa club.
Since then he has created work for studios like Netflix, Universal Studios, DreamWorks Animation, Lucasfilm, DirectTV, Cartoon Network, Disney, Marvel, Stoopid Buddies, and WildBrain Animation. His music video work includes projects for Taylor Swift, Vampire Weekend, The Summer Set, The Pentatonix, and many others. His live action and animated short films have played the world over at festivals like Hollyshorts, Cannes Indie, Slamdance, Cinequest, FilmQuest, SideWalk, San Jose, In The Palace, SModcastle, and garnered awards in several categories. His last film, The Heart of Texas was long listed for the Academy Award, and his new film Meeting Your Maker stars Jonathan Kite, Lenny Jacobson, The Sklar Brothers, Thomas Lennon, Dylan Playfair, and Anna Chazelle, with puppetry from Henson alum Amanda Maddock.
Gregory also seeks opportunities to mentor, consult, and teach. He has given talks at film festivals around the country on topics ranging from Film Production to Animation to Digital Marketing. Some advice on short filmmaking can be found in MovieMaker Magazine.
Meet the FRIPRESCI Jury
1:30 PM, Holiday Inn Clarion Room, FREE
FIPRESCI is the international federation of film critics. Andrew Kendall, Elijah Baron, and Beat Glur will be joining us, come ask questions of what it means to be a critic.
About Elijah:
Elijah Baron is a film critic and programmer based in Montreal, Canada. He has worked as a staff writer for 24 images, a leading French-language film magazine, since 2016, winning the SODEP 2023 Excellence Award for his writings on Ukrainian cinema. He has served as vice-president of the Quebec Film Critics Association since 2025. He is also the co-founder of L'image fantôme, a regular series of screenings focused on rare film restorations and discussions with emerging filmmakers.
About Andrew:
Andrew Kendall is a critic, academic, writer, and communication consultant. He holds a Master of Arts Degree in Film and Literature from the University of York and was the Head of Department of Language and Cultural Studies at the University of Guyana from 2021 to 2023. He has also taught at the National School of Theatre Arts and Drama and served as an advisor for the BIPOC Critics Lab. He is Guyana's primary film critic, serving as a columnist at Stabroek News (2017-2026) and currently writes for News Source. He also writes on theatre for Token Theatre Friends. He is a programmer at the Georgetown Film Festival and has also programmed film series and events for the University of Guyana, the U.S. Embassy in Georgetown, and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). Andrew is a member of the Guyana Press Association (GPA), the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI), the Society of LGBTQ Entertainment Critics (GALECA) and the African-American Film Critics Association (AAFCA).
ABOUT BEAT:
Beat Glur is a film, music and literature journalist from Bern. He has been the head of the cultural news department of the Swiss News Agency for 16 years. Since 2008 he works as a freelance journalist, moderator and adviser. He was a programmer for the film festivals in Rotterdam, Berlin and Locarno. He sat on the Board of the Swiss Film Commission and of Suissimage. He worked for the Zurich Film Festival, the Visions du Réel in Nyon and the Bern Opera House. Until 2011, he was the president of the Swiss Film Critic’s Organization and is since its Managing Director. He is also a member of the Board of Fipresci.
Camera and Lighting Workshop
3:30 PM, Holiday Inn Clairon Room, $5
The workshop is led by Aly Yeganeh and focuses on lighting as a form of “painting” in cinema, exploring how light and shadow create mood, depth, and guide the viewer’s gaze. Working with a model and several lighting setups, we will recreate similar atmospheres on set using UHD cameras with HDR capabilities. The footage shot during the session will be processed the same day, allowing participants to follow the complete workflow, including color correction and grading. The strength of this workshop lies in its approach. By starting with the semiology of painting - a subject that naturally appeals to a wide audience—we create clear and accessible analogies with practical lighting techniques. Participants can directly understand how different lighting setups produce specific atmospheres, as seen in classical paintings.
At the same time, we would address High Dynamic Range (HDR) in modern cinematography, showing how this technology extends visual perception, much as great painters once expanded what could be seen and represented. Through color correction, we would then explore how color and contrast convey emotion—treating the frame as a canvas and demonstrating how light shapes characters, narrative, and genre.
The workshop is divided into two segments of 75 minutes, separated by a 30-minute coffee break.
About Aly:
Aly Yeganeh is a French-Iranian director and cinematographer based in Paris. Raised in Tehran, he began making films as a teenager within the early Iranian Free Cinema movement, contributing to its formative years alongside a small group of emerging filmmakers.
He studied filmmaking at the London Film School and at Southern Methodist University in the United States, before completing doctoral studies in sociology, philosophy, and mass communication at the University of Paris Nanterre. With over 25 years of experience in film and television, he has worked on more than one hundred commercials, documentaries, and independent feature films worldwide, serving either as director or cinematographer. In parallel, he has built a long-standing career as an educator, serving as a Senior Instructor at French National Television, teaching semiology at the Sorbonne, and leading masterclasses internationally.
His latest feature, Le Silence de Sibel (2024), has received multiple international awards, including Best Film, Best Cinematography, and Best Ensemble Cast, and was selected by the respected review Regards Protestants as one of the top ten films released in France in 2024.
Getting Known with HIKE INDEPENDENT
4:00 PM, Five Flags Bijou Room
You poured everything into it. Now it's time to get it seen. But where do you start? Most filmmakers spend 15+ hours digging through thousands of festivals... the premiere requirements, categories, and fees. It's overwhelming. And it takes time away from what actually matters — your art.
saturday
APRIL 25th
Executive Director Panel
11:30 AM, Holiday Inn Clarion Room, Free
Film Festival EDs discuss how they build their festival and what they are looking for. Featuring Susan Gorrell, Marc Longbrake, Louis Hunter, Ryan Shank, and Chad Matthews.
About Marc:
Marc is the executive director of the Omaha Film Festival, a nonprofit organization where he leads one of the region’s longest-running showcases for independent film. He oversees programming, operations, and partnerships for the festival’s annual event and year-round initiatives, including educational programs that support and connect emerging filmmakers. With a background in photography, videography, and live production, Marc approaches festival leadership with a focus on both creative experience and technical execution, working to build an environment where films, filmmakers, and audiences can connect in meaningful ways.
About Louis:
Louis Hunter is the founder and operations director of the Waco Independent Film Festival, recognized by MovieMaker Magazine as one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World, 50 Worth the Entry Fee, and consistently ranked among FilmFreeway’s best-reviewed festivals. He’s also a filmmaker and producer, creating content for brands like CBS, 7-Eleven, Pizza Hut, and more. When he’s not watching movies or planning the next festival, he’s usually balancing life as a dad of two and plotting his next move at the board-game table.
Abour Ryan:
Ryan Shank is the founder and Executive Director of the Red Rose Film Festival in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, a growing independent film festival dedicated to connecting global storytelling with local impact. Since launching in 2019, he has led the festival’s expansion into a multi-venue experience that brings together filmmakers, businesses, and audiences from around the world. Under his leadership, the Red Rose Film Festival has received hundreds of submissions annually, representing dozens of countries, while maintaining a strong emphasis on regional storytelling and community engagement.
The festival continues to grow its audience, partnerships, and industry presence, positioning Lancaster as an emerging destination for film and creative collaboration. He views film festivals as long-term infrastructure—platforms that support filmmakers, strengthen communities, and create lasting economic impact.
About Chad:
Chad Mathews is the Executive Director of the Lone Star Film Society, the nonprofit behind the annual Lone Star Film Festival in Fort Worth, Texas. A TCU graduate in Film, Television, and Digital Media, he began his career as an actor in Los Angeles before returning to Texas to pursue screenwriting, directing, and festival leadership.
As a filmmaker, Mathews has screened work at more than 35 film festivals across North America. His short films Love Sick Lonnie and Detention both secured distribution, and Where Am I, Texas earned finalist recognition in the Texas Monthly Short Film Competition at the Austin Film Festival. His most recent project, I Guess This Is Goodbye, marks his latest turn behind the camera as writer-director.
Beyond his own films, Mathews has built his career around developing the next generation of storytellers — organizing youth film camps, co-founding the Hill Country Film Festival in Fredericksburg, and now leading one of Texas's premier film festivals. He sees the Lone Star Film Festival as a long-term platform for connecting filmmakers, audiences, and communities across the region.
When he's not programming films or developing emerging talent, he's at home in Fort Worth with his wife and two daughters.
About Susan:
In 2012, Susan Gorrell attended the first annual Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (JDIFF) as a Producer representing her documentary A MILLION SPOKES, about the famous bike ride across Iowa, RAGBRAI, which received worldwide distribution.
After experiencing the beauty and excitement of Dubuque, she decided to accept a position on the JDIFF board in 2013 and in 2014 was hired as Senior Manager. In 2015 Susan was promoted to Executive Director and will be celebrating her 12th year as ED in April 2026. Since her tenure, film watchers and filmmakers, from all over the world, have attended the festival and increase every year. In 2025 there were over 6,000 attendees over the 5-day festival.
Susan is also the President and Producer of Oakmill Entertainment. Her family has been in the entertainment business for a total of over 50 combined years, creating strong connections with industry businesses in film and music. She spent 15 years as a production/PR manager for Heartbeat Distribution, a Christian music and DVD distribution company, and was a production/stage manager for the Unity Awards for 8 years. She set up productions for the event in Washington DC, Ohio, Minnesota, Arizona, New Orleans, and Canada.
In 2016, Susan produced SUPERCON, with stars such as; John Malkovich, Clancy Brown, and Mike Epps. SUPERCON was released by Sony Pictures Entertainment in April 2018. Since then, Susan has Produced multiple features and a TV Pilot that was shot in Dubuque.
The 2026, the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival will be celebrating 15 years and has increased to an 8-day festival, April 18 - 25.
Documentary First Live Podcast - She Built a World-Class Film Festival in Small-Town Iowa - Here's how | Susan Gorrell, JDIFF
12:30 PM, Holiday Inn Clarion Room, Free
Documentary First is a podcast and production company featuring 275+ episodes of in-depth conversations with documentary filmmakers worldwide.
Join us for this episode, recorded LIVE, as Christian Taylor sits down with Susan to talk about what it takes to build and sustain an indie film festival — the early days, the financial realities, the community that made it possible, and why filmmakers keep coming back year after year. Meet Susan's family that work alongside Susan supporting the festival and her.
How do you build a film festival that puts filmmakers first — from scratch, in a small Midwestern city, and why does your family support you?
Susan Gorrell did exactly that. Over the past decade, she's grown the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival (JDIFF) from a regional event into an internationally recognized festival, named a top 100 festival by FilmFreeway and featured by MovieMaker Magazine. In 2026, JDIFF is screening over 200 films from filmmakers around the world.
Whether you're thinking about starting your own festival, submitting to regional festivals, or wondering what separates a great festival experience from a forgettable one — this conversation has something for you.
Special Effects
2:00 PM, Holiday Inn Clarion Room, Free
Have a one on one conversation with Cody Lee Pierce from ABC’s Nashville 9-1-1
About Cody:
Born and raised in middle Georgia during the late 20th century by a photographer mother and welder/machinist father. Photography became a hobby while welding and fabrication became a job. After graduating from Georgia State University, he entered the corporate world where he sat at a desk and created nothing. After years of success, and being miserable, he left the corporate world and entered into the world of Special Effects.
SAGIndie Low Budget Contract Workshop
4:00 PM, Holiday Inn Clairon Room, $5
SAGindie is a free educational resource that assists independent producers with getting their films made at a professional level. Perfect for beginners, join us for this workshop and learn about the process involved in hiring professional actors for your indie film. Topics that will be covered include:
A guide through the SAG-AFTRA signatory process
A breakdown of the details and costs of various low-budget agreements (Micro-Budget, Student, Short, Ultra/Moderate/Low Budget Project Agreements)
Best practices and helpful tips for indie producers
About Eliza:
Eliza Hajek is an LA-based writer/producer in addition to Manager of Development and Sponsorship at SAGindie. Her duties with SAGindie include traveling to film festivals, speaking on panels and at seminars, and interacting with independent producers worldwide in order to demystify the SAG-AFTRA Low Budget Agreements.