Joe Duca

Los Angeles-based writer and director Joe Duca is on a mission to create a more hopeful world, 24 frames at a time. Informed by his Italian and Puerto Rican heritage, his films blend thrills with thoughtfulness, humor with heartbreak, and hope with wonder.His first feature film Evergreen (2019) – hailed as a “moving testament to love’s simultaneous preciousness and fragility” and a “sublime achievement” – won Best Picture, Best Actress, & Best Supporting Actress from the Houston Broadcast Critics Association; Best Director Award at the Hunter Mountain Film Festival; and the Audience Choice Award from the Fort Worth Indie Film Showcase.Joe’s second feature Her Name Was Jo (2020) – both an intimate coming-of-age portrait and sweeping road movie – premiered in 2020 at the Lighthouse International Film Festival before winning Best Narrative Feature at both Filmocracy Fest and the Kansas City Film Fest International. Her Name Was Jo went on to secure North American distribution through Gravitas Ventures and teamed with Wide Management for international sales, and is available now on Amazon Freevee and Paramount Plus domestically and HBO Max in Europe.Joe is a native of Northern Virginia and graduate of Christendom College. After moving to LA, he studied screenwriting through the Act One Program and under the mentorship of Joe Aaron – co-creator of Disney’s Doug – and award-winning playwright and screenwriter Corey Mandell.In addition to having produced and directed two features, he’s created a bevy of shorts, music videos, and testimonials, written four screenplays, and is committed to creating thoughtful, thrilling, compassionate cinema for years to come.