José Antonio Duce, photographer, producer, screenwriter, and film director, will be recognized for his career on May 28 during the gala of the XIV edition of the Simón Awards, where he will receive the Simón de Honor, an award previously granted to figures such as Carlos Saura and Antón García Abril.
A life dedicated to cinema
This morning, Sara Fernández, Councilor for Culture, Education, and Tourism of the Zaragoza City Council; Pedro Olloqui, General Director of Culture of the Government of Aragón; and María José Moreno, president of the Academy of Cinema and Audiovisual of Aragón, gathered at the Teatro Principal, where the gala will take place, to reveal the identity of the awardee and express their gratitude for his significant dedication to Aragonese cinema at a historically critical moment for it.
Duce, born in Zaragoza in 1933, founded, along with José Luis Pomarón, Víctor Monreal, Emilio Alfaro, Julián Muro, and Manuel Rotellar, the first professional film production company in Aragon in the early 1960s: Moncayo Films, which produced a total of 24 works between 1961 and 1968, including short films, documentaries, and feature films.
Among the films he directed during those years, without a doubt, Culpable para un delito is his most recognized work. An effective film noir shot entirely in Zaragoza, his hometown, from which he has never been willing to detach himself. This was emphasized by María José Moreno, who described Duce as «a true master of masters»: “The Simón de Honor also aims to reward the effort in complex years for film creation and the arduous task they undertook in starting a production company away from the capitals where films are usually produced.”
As part of the tribute, Culpable para un delito will be screened at the Filmoteca de Zaragoza this May.
In addition to directing several works, Duce served as a director of photography, a passion in which he has been able to immerse himself in recent years after leaving his film career, becoming president of the Real Sociedad Fotográfica de Zaragoza between 1968 and 1973, and whose work was recently recognized with the Ciudad de Zaragoza Photography Award. “Through his photographs, he seeks to capture not only the urban landscape but also the soul of those environments in his beloved city, which is the main protagonist of his life,” expressed Olloqui.
Finally, Sara Fernández wanted to underline the appropriateness of choosing the Teatro Principal, in its 225th anniversary, as the venue for this new edition of the awards for Aragonese cinema, emphasizing the connection of this space with the cinematography of the community, being one of the first projection sites in our city and one of the settings for Culpable para un delito.
José Antonio Duce could not attend the presentation due to his advanced age and delicate state of health. In his place, his friend and fellow photographer, José Luis Cintora, expressed gratitude for the recognition and shared the joy it brings Duce to receive such an honor.
