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| (Image Source: GMA Network) |
Highly acclaimed scriptwriter, playwright and novelist Ricky Lee is in the midst of an in-depth 12-week workshop participated by two dozen writers from GMA Network's Public Affairs department which began last February 5 with Lee sharing his talent and insight on how to craft stories for television and film that capture and move the audience and helping participants develop their individual and group storylines. Joining the said workshop are some of the Kapuso Network's exclusives and a pool of writers from the GMA Entertainment Group.
Lee finds training a team of Public Affairs personnel intriguing to him. He said, “Working in News and Public Affairs, they should draw their stories from their rich reservoir of real experiences and insights, so they will have a distinct voice.” This voice is what he is now helping the group create. “I find the workshoppers to be very open and receptive, which makes the workshops very exciting and challenging at the same time,” he adds. GMA Public Affairs has been producing groundbreaking and innovative shows on television. Some of its award-winning public affairs programs include “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho”, “Wish Ko Lang!,” “Imbestigador,” “I-Witness”, “Reporter’s Notebook” and “The Atom Araullo Specials” among many others. Recently the department has begun to produce innovative primetime drama series and is currently airing rom-com Owe My Love on GMA and time-traveling fantasy “The Lost Recipe” on GTV. This year, GMA Public Affairs is also set to launch the romance mystery “Love You Stranger” and action-adventure “Lolong.”
Continuing to help budding scriptwriters to reach their full potential in the field of writing, Lee is holding two more online scriptwriting workshops made possible by the Cinemalaya Institute Training Program. These free training sessions are part of the Cinemalaya's new vision during this time “as it redefines its direction and strategy while remaining significant and continuing to fulfill its mission of discovering, encouraging, supporting, training, and recognizing gifted Filipino independent filmmakers.” First is the Cinemalaya Scriptwriting Masterclass on April 14 (2:00-5:00 pm), open to all Filipinos here and abroad, which looks into the foundations of storytelling for film. Then there is the Cinemalaya Intensive Scriptwriting Workshop with eight weekly sessions every Wednesday from May 26 to July 14 (10:00 am-3:00 pm). Limited only to 30 participants who have gone through a selection process, the workshop focuses on the step-by-step creation of "compelling scripts told in one's unique voice".
Lee, who turns 73 years old this Friday (March 19), is considered a visionary in the Philippine TV and film industry. He has penned over 180 scripts that include “Himala” (1982), “Salome” (1981), and “Brutal” (1980). He has frequently collaborated with esteemed directors Lino Brocka, Ishmael Bernal and Marilou Diaz-Abaya. He has also written several books — among them “Trip to Quiapo,” which has become a must-read for aspiring scriptwriters. He is a recipient of more than 70 awards, including the 2020 Camera Obscura Artistic Excellence Award from the Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP). He is a Hall of Fame awardee at the Metro Manila Film Festival 2019 and was named FDCP Film Ambassador in 2017 for winning at the 2016 International Film Festival Manhattan. He is also one of the 100 Centennial Awardees by the Cultural Center of the Philippines and was given the Natatanging Gawad Urian Life Achievement Award (2003), Gawad CCP sa Sining para sa Literature (2015), and UP Gawad Plaridel Award for Film (2015).
For more information on and how to take part and participate in the Cinemalaya Scriptwriter Masterclass and the Cinemalaya Intensive Scriptwriting Workshop, visit www.cinemalaya.com.ph or Cinemalaya on social media.
