Manila-raised Kapampangan indie filmmaker wins Palanca

By Joelyn G. Baluyut

Tuesday 4th of September 2012

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Sept 4 (PIA) -- Manila-raised Kapampangan independent filmmaker Richard Legaspi placed second in the Dulang Pampelikula category of the 62nd Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature for the screenplay “Primera Bella.”

“Winning the Palanca is the dream of every Filipino creative writer. Since elementary, inaambisyon ko na manalo pero ang problem ay hindi naman ako laging sumasali. My first attempt to join the Palanca was in 2004 for my script Cyclone Loop, pero hindi pinalad then 2009 Cyclone Loop ang isa sa mga winning scripts ng Cinema One Originals Film Grant Competition (Winning the Palanca is the dream of every Filipino creative writer. Since elementary, I had always aspired to win the tilt but the problem is I don’t always join. My first attempt to join the Palanca was in 2004 for my script Cyclone Loop. Unfortunately, it failed to bag an honor. Ironically, Cyclone Loop would be one of the winning scripts of the 2009 Cinema One Originals Film Grant Competition),” Legaspi said in an interview.

The 2012 Cinemalaya-winning director advised aspiring filmmakers “not to be afraid to tell your stories, bagama’t posibleng may pagkakahawig ang lahat ng kuwento sa mundo ang paraan ng pagkukuwento o paglalahad natin ay magkakaiba. At ang kaibahan na ito ang panghahawakan mo bilang artist kung sino ka. (Do not be afraid to tell you stories, although it is possible that all the stories in this world would somewhat have similarities, the way on how you deliver a story differs. And this indifference will define who you are as an artist).”

Primera Bella is a story of Lino who is considered the youngest pimp in Manila in the 1980s. With the goal of getting clients for all the prostituted women under his wing, he also has to contend with his feelings for Bella, the leading prostitute of Avenida.

The Palanca Awards was established in 1950 by the heirs of Don Carlos Palanca Sr., a philanthrophy and businessman, as a tribute to his memory.

It aims to help develop Philippine literature by providing incentives for writers to craft their literary works, to be a treasury of the country's literary gems, and to assist in the eventual dissemination of good literature to our people, particularly the students. (CLJD/JGB-PIA3)