Ricky Lee receives IFFM lifetime achievement award

Veteran screenwriter Ricky Lee was recently honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Scriptwriting by the Interna­tional Film Festival Manhattan (IFFM) in New York.

Lee personally received the plaque of recognition from festival director Luis Pedron during the IFFM awards night, held at the Kalayaan Hall of the Philippine Center in New York City on October 20.

Before receiving the prize, the award-winning writer con­ducted a scriptwriting work­shop at the Producers Club Theaters & Bar from October 17 to 19. He has been holding workshops in the Philippines since 1982, producing hun­dreds of graduates who are now part of the film and television industry. He has mentored several budding writers and he vows to continue to help more of them reach their full writing potential in his upcoming workshops.

Lee has written more than 160 scripts for Filipino films since 1973. Many of these have won awards here and abroad. Among them are Himala, Karnal, Moral, Salome and other films directed by acclaimed Filipino filmmakers, including the late National Artists for Film Lino Brocka and Ishmael Bernal.

Aside from being a screen­writer, Lee is also an author. He has written Trip to Quiapo, a scriptwriting manual; Si Tatang at mga Himala ng Ating Panahon, a collection of short stories; Pitik-Bulag sa Buwan ng Pebrero, a playbook; the novels Para Kay B (O Kung Paano Dinevastate ng Pag-ibig ang 4 out of 5 sa Atin) and Si Amapola sa 65 na Kabana­ta; and screenplay books, such as Brutal/Salome, Moral, Bukas May Pangarap, and Jose Rizal.

His script for Salome has also been translated into English and published by the University of Wisconsin for its film studies.

Lee has received more than 60 trophies from various award-giving bodies, includ­ing the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP) Gawad Para sa Sining, University of the Philippines (UP) Gawad Plaridel, Natatanging Gawad Urian from the Manunuri ng Pelikulang Pilipino, and a life­time-achievement award from the Cinemanila International Film Festival.

He was also one of the recipients of the Centennial Honors for the Arts from the CCP and the Gawad Pamban­sang Alagad ni Balagtas for Tagalog fiction from the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas (Umpil).

At ABS-CBN, he has worked as creative manager, handling television dramas such as Mangarap Ka, Maging Sino Ka Man, Vietnam Rose, Ysabella, Lobo, Magkaribal, Imor­tal, Kahit Isang Saglit, and The Greatest Love.

The week-long IFFM showcased 11 full-length feature films, 32 shorts and two documentaries from the United States, Spain, China, Mauritius, Australia, Germany, Canada, Argentina, Finland, and the Philippines.