RIP Joan Franco Prado

The Basque who fell in love with Las Negras and fell in love with Almeria cinema

Photographer and actor Joan Franco, who has lived in Almeria since 2000, dies at the age of 65

La Voz Almeria

By Evaristo Martinez

October 15, 2024

 

Almeria cinema is in mourning. On Friday, October 11, in his homeland, Joan Franco Prado (Vitoria, 1959) passed away. He was 65 years old and had spent the last 24 years linked to Las Negras. From there, every morning, he greeted his networks with a 'Good morning, world' and an image of the sunrise, recalls cultural manager Alejandro Reyes.

In the Nijar district he found a home and in the audiovisual people, a family. He was an actor, an extra, and played different technical roles behind the camera. "He was a great cameraman and photographer: I learned a lot from his knowledge and experience," says Diego Pérez Cano, director of 'The Interrogation', a film in which Franco was deputy director.

Manuel Olaya gave him his first role "both artistic and in production" in the short film 'Arizona, 1878'. "Unfortunately, in 'Agnella', also the last," he says about this production, premiered at the last Almeria Western Film Festival, an event in which the charismatic Basque was remembered, and a lot.

Self-taught, Franco was the official photographer of the Vitoria-Gasteiz International Jazz Festival from 1985 to 2000. He designed album covers and published in specialized magazines. In Almeria he exhibited his work at the Cyrano café.

On the screen

Since he came into contact with the Almeria audiovisual industry, he shared hours of filming with performers, extras, technicians and directors. "It was our film library," says actor Antonio Saldaña. "With a hug, bad vibes that were foreign to us dissipated. It was lucky to have him around," says another colleague, Miguel Morales.

"I met him at a casting, but I didn't go to the audition, but with a microphone from Canal Sur. Life made us work together on some projects and share many moments of cinema. On a shoot, he was the one who knew how to move and where to place everything. It's incredible what he can learn," says Carlos Juan, journalist and producer of Canal Sur. "I'm an imposter and he knew it. He was the only man I allowed to suck my face on a shoot. We will meet in another dimension to give it back to him," jokes musician and actor Javier Arnal. "He took his job very seriously. He had a big heart and gave without asking for anything in return," says Francisco Yélamos, who directed him in the short film '13 años'.

He participated in several shoots in Oasys MiniHollywood. "He was a stalwart of the park, always willing to support new projects in exchange for nothing, and giving you a smile," says José María Rodríguez Linde, manager of the town of Tabernas. And along the same lines, from the Café-Bar Ambrosio, home of the Almeria Western museum-cinema: "He was always willing to collaborate altruistically with his characteristic and sarcastic smile".

For the singer and artist Mar Venzal, he was a "free spirit" who looked at the world "through a camera". In the words of screenwriter and director Nieves Gómez, he was a "generous, humble and respectful" filmmaker, with an "incredible personality". "Every sunrise will take me to those photos that he gave us. And like the sound of the waves of the Mediterranean, it will resonate in each shoot with that affection and generosity that characterized him," says actress Anuska Martínez.

He left his mark

In addition to his dedication to the profession, those who crossed his path underline his human worth. "Our paths crossed for the first time a decade ago, on a shoot. From that day on, Joan left an indelible mark on my heart and on that of my students, always sharing his love. I admired him deeply," recalls Evelina Zukauskaite, coordinator of studies and tutor at EISO (School of Image and Sound of Almeria).

"He was always in a good mood," says chef Alejandro Farace. "Greeting the world every morning and sticking out your tongue in every selfie: you already miss him," adds prop designer Leonardo Giménez.

For actress Terry Bordiú, the Vitorian was "a light of life" and someone capable of making "every moment special". And Elsa Escribano, Tourism technician of the Provincial Council, highlights its "sensitivity" in capturing "essential moments".

"Each of my notes will carry his memory, his passion and his enthusiasm because he was simply an unforgettable person," confesses the composer David Miralles. And El Indaliano bids him farewell in verse: "It no longer dawns in Las Negras / as it used to dawn. / Joan took the brush / with which he colored / to his sky every day".

PRADO, Joan Franco

Born: 4/21/1959, Vitoria, Álava, Spain

Died: 10/14/2024, Las Negras, Andalucia, Spain

 

Joan Franco Prado’s western – cinematographer, actor:

Arizona 1878 una historia del Viejo oeste – 2019 (drunk) [cinematographer]