In the Beginning, the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival Was an Idea, Born on the Banks of the Mississippi River in Dubuque, Iowa.

Join Us for the 13th Annual Festival April 24-28, 2024.

Schedule:

11:30am - Legal Issues in Film Distribution (60 Minutes)

With Robert Darwell and Alex Akhavan

Having Mastered the Skills to Secure Money and Talent to Produce a Film or Documentary, the Next Major Obstacle to Success is Securing Distribution. This Workshop Addresses the Legal Issues and Strategies Presented in Successfully Licensing and Distributing Your Film.

About Robert and Alex:

Robert Darwell and Alex Akhavan of the Top Global Media Law Firm, Sheppard Mullin, Have Worked on the Development, Production, and Distribution of Hundreds of Major Studio, Streamer, and Independent Films and Documentaries, Including Such Titles as Air, Slumdog Millionaire, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, a Hero, Supervillain: the Making of Tekashi 6ix9ine, Wildcat, Brokeback Mountain, the Queen.

Darwell, Whose Latest Documentary Black Uniform is Screening This Year at Jdiff is Currently Representing the Producers of Better Man, a $25 Million North American Distribution Deal at Paramount, the Top Indie Deal in Years.

1:00pm - Music: a Documentary Filmmaker’s Best Friend (60 Minutes)

With Maureen Gosling

Join Award-winning Documentary Filmmaker Maureen Gosling in a Discussion About the Creative Use of Music Within Documentary Filmmaking. Maureen Will Share Clips From Her 50+year Career as a Filmmaker - Including Selections From Her Longtime Collaborative Work With Documentarian Les Blank (Burden of Dreams, Always for Pleasure, Garlic is as Good as Ten Mothers). See Maureen's New Documentary the 9 Lives of Barbara Dane as a Jdiff Official Selection.

About Maureen:

Gosling Has Been a Documentary Filmmaker for 50 Years. She Has Worked as Director, Producer, Editor, Sound Recordist and Distributor. Producer/director Credits Include the Feature Doc This Ain’t No Mouse Music! (Premiered Sxsw), With Chris Simon, on the Legacy of American Roots Music Record Producer, Chris Strachwitz; and the Feature Doc Blossoms of Fire, on the Isthmus Zapotecs of Oaxaca, Mexico (Hbo Latino). Gosling Edited Pleistocene Park (Vice); the Long Shadow (Pbs); a New Color (Pbs) and Many Other Docs. She is Best Known for Her 20-year Collaboration (as Co-filmmaker, Editor, Sound Recordist) With the Late Les Blank on More Than 20 Films, Including Burden of Dreams (Bafta for Best Documentary 1982). For the Last 20 Years, She Has Worked With Producer Jed Riffe on Nine Films, Including California’s “lost” Tribes, of the Pbs Series California and the American Dream. Gosling is a Member of the Academy of Motion Picture, Arts and Sciences.

2:00pm - Crowdfunding to Build Independence (60 Minutes)

With Megan Ross

Most People Think About Crowdfunding Simply as a Fundraising Tool, but We're Going to Show You How It's So Much More Than That. Discover How to Have a Successful Crowdfunding Campaign. And Career! You’ll Learn

How to Find Your Audience, Structure Your Crowdfunding Campaign, Pick the Right Goal and Incentives, and More.

About Megan:

Meghan Ross is the Head of Creator Success at Seed&spark and Previously Worked for Viceland and Sundancetv. She’s Also an Austin-based Writer/director/comedian Who Was Selected for Women at Sundance | Adobe Fellowship, Sundance Episodic Lab, and Newnarratives Grant From Newfilmmakers La & Warner Bros. Discovery’s Onefifty for Her Half-hour Comedy Here to Make Friends (Also Her Personal Tagline). Her Shorts Made the New Yorker’s Best Shouts of 2020 List, She Was Nominated for the Webby Awards, and She Hosted the Late Night Show That Time of the Month for 5 Years. Most Importantly, Meghan’s an Aspiring Stage Mom to Her Rescue Pit-lab, Dreidel.

Date: April 24-28, 2024