Joe Duca

Excited to be at Hot Springs Documentary Film Festival with The Dying Business!

I’m excited The Dying Business will be premiering in Indianapolis later next Saturday. It’s been a a five year journey…since I first had the idea to tell the story of my cousins’ third generation funeral home in Jonestown, PA. From Covid’s impact to the rise in cremations culturally, their business faces many challenges, testing their ability to continue. I wanted to shine a light on these challenges facing funeral directors, and explore the question of whether it’s worth it to keep a small family business going when economic and cultural forces work against it. If so, why? How much should you sacrifice to continue your family’s legacy?

Taking my first stab at making a doc was an adventure… Shot entirely on iPhone while working another job, it was a project that tested creativity in ways I didn’t anticipate. I learned a lot I’ll be taking with me to my next directing opportunities.

I’m grateful for the support of and talented editing work of our editor, , which helped turn my idea for The Dying Business into reality. Looking forward to premiering it at the Indy Shorts Film Festival!

Thank you Francis Ford Coppola and American Zoetrope for the recognition in the 2024 screenplay competition!

Director’s POV: Dear Winter, if you’re not going to snow, I quit.