Susan Gorrell

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 11h year as ED in April 2025. Since her tenure, film watchers and filmmakers, from all over the world, have attended the festival and increase every year. In 2024 there were over 7,500 attendees for the 5-day event.

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 2025, the Julien Dubuque International Film Festival will be celebrating 14 years.