Iowa Premiere at JDIFF 2026: The Driftless Brings Midwestern Horror to Life

At the 2026 Julien Dubuque International Film Festival, filmmaker Tim Connery presents the Iowa premiere of The Driftless, an anthology horror film rooted in the eerie landscapes and folklore of the Midwest.

Set against the unique terrain of the Driftless region, an area untouched by glaciers, the film weaves together four unsettling stories that explore hidden terror beneath natural beauty. From cult activity along the Mississippi River to supernatural forces and buried histories, The Driftless transforms a familiar American setting into something far more haunting.

For Connery, the project began during the uncertainty of the pandemic, when he turned his focus toward writing and rethinking how to build sustainable independent work. Rather than developing standalone short films, he combined multiple concepts into a single anthology, allowing for both creative flexibility and a more strategic production model.

The result is a film that blends personal history with genre storytelling. Connery, who is from the region, draws directly from the places and textures that shaped his upbringing, grounding the film’s horror in something authentic and lived in.

“If something that massive passed everything else over but skipped this place, you start to wonder what else it left behind,” Connery says. “Probably some scary stuff.”

Beyond its setting, The Driftless explores themes tied to identity and transition, particularly the anxieties that come with midlife. Through its interconnected stories, the film examines fear, regret, and the quiet tension of feeling stuck or left behind, all filtered through a genre lens.

The anthology format allows each segment to resonate differently, giving audiences multiple entry points into the story. No two viewers are likely to walk away with the same experience, a dynamic Connery sees as central to the film’s impact.

Production remained deeply local. With the exception of a single location, the film was shot entirely in Dubuque County, reinforcing its connection to Iowa both on and off screen. The project also reflects a long standing creative collaboration, with Connery working alongside trusted department heads and collaborators he has developed over years of filmmaking.

For Connery, premiering the film at JDIFF carries added weight. As a Dubuque based filmmaker, the festival represents both a homecoming and a milestone, marking the final stop on the film’s festival run before moving into distribution.

“It always means the world to me to be standing in front of the hometown crowd,” Connery says.

With its Iowa premiere at JDIFF, The Driftless not only showcases regional filmmaking at a high level but also reframes the Midwest as a space rich with cinematic possibility. It moves beyond familiar imagery and invites audiences to see the region in a new light, one shaped by mystery, history, and the unknown.

For more information follow @timconnery and @driftlessmovie