I LOVE movies, and I’ve always dreamed of writing a film script. For many years when I was already in the practice of public relations and communications, my secret wish was to venture into the field of screenwriting, but I did not know how to start. With my background in broadcast communication and research, plus having written several books, it seemed to me that film making was another field of communication that I could aspire to learn about. I had actually considered taking up short film courses abroad but I never got around to doing it because of my ever busy work schedules.
During the pandemic, I came across a Facebook Post announcing that Ricky Lee, the famous screenwriter of Filipino classics like “Himala” (by Ishmael Bernal), Moral, Brutal, and Jose Rizal (by Marilou Diaz-Abaya), was offering his iconic Scriptwriting Workshop online. The idea hit me right away that this was my chance! I knew I had to sign up. Ricky Lee is an industry icon, and while I never had the chance to meet him, I’ve watched a lot of his unforgettable films and I knew several friends who have taken his workshops. All of the stories that his scripts unfold seem to be filled with nuance, insight, and heart. I always find them relevant and compelling.
Perhaps the reason I wanted to learn how to write a script for film was because there are so many real life stories I have personally witnessed or have been shared with me which I’ve been forever distilling in my mind. I had aspirations about translating at least one of them into a film someday.
I knew that Ricky Lee has been offering his screenwriting workshops since the 1980s. I also bought a copy of his book “Trip to Quiapo” a scriptwriting manual where he breaks down his process carefully, all the while still telling stories about his own experiences.
This particular workshop would only choose a limited number of participants and to qualify, we had to write and submit a letter declaring why we wanted to join. We barely made the deadline for submission but when they finally announced the list of selected workshop participants from over a thousand applicants, I was incredibly happy to find myself and my daughter Monique among the lucky ones. Was this a sign for me? To find our names included in two of three batches of 65 students each batch?
My daughter was part of the first batch, and they met one day every week via Zoom. She would emerge from each workshop day filled with stories about learning about not scripts per se but people.
Lesson no. 1: Every story, every person or situation you write about has a deep seated “bubog” and you must learn how to find or dig it up. “Bubog” translated in English means a broken piece of glass or glass splinter. It is also used as a word for glass, mirror or “salamin.” What a perfect and profound word to mean brokenness, reflection, and even an introspective look into one’s deepest and darkest past, emotions, and experiences. That was Ricky Lee’s secret which he chose to share with all of us.
Writing stories is about shining a light on people, not necessarily just putting words onto a page. Instead of a technical workshop, it’s about breaking down the emotions, feelings, and thoughts that drive a story forward. “It’s really about finding and revealing someone’s bubog,” Monique told me, not wanting to reveal too much before my turn to undergo to the workshop.
When my batch met two months later, I was excited but scared at the same time. I was prepared to learn the basics of technical scriptwriting, a crash course on how to put to paper the form and structure that makes up the backbone of a film. And here’s the second lesson I learned as Monique had hinted at.
Lesson no. 2: Writing a story is not technical. It’s not just a script but heart and humanity that really make a movie.
As soon as Ricky Lee appeared on my computer screen for our first Zoom Meeting, I immediately felt at ease. Even virtually, he appeared warm, kind, and open, and as the weeks progressed, he proved that he was exactly that, and so much more.
I had always known he was brilliant and talented, but I had no idea how down-to-earth and generous he truly is, not only with his time, but his talent and experience. He shared that he’s been giving his workshops since the 80s for free because it was his way of giving back to the community and the industry. Even then and especially today, this is unheard of. It seems that everyone in movie making wants to get rich and famous, but Ricky Lee just wants to tell good stories.
He shared so much about his own life—how he was raised by his relatives in Daet, Camarines Norte because his mother died early (and thus, where his own bubog of abandonment-slash-mother issues emerged), how he sought refuge and escape in their local library and fell in love with stories, how he became an activist and was imprisoned in the 70s, how he feels that writing lyrics is the highest form of art that he only wishes he could do.
He gave us several films to watch and generously helped us see the insights and plots woven through the two-hour masterpieces. At no point did I feel he was bragging or needlessly waxing poetic. All his stories and pieces of advice were heartfelt, honest, straightforward, and even humorous.
We, of course, had a million questions—about him, about his scripts and his life experiences. He never held back anything. With his rueful smile and gentle voice, he openly shared the answers without filter. Despite decades in showbiz, we never felt like he gave “showbiz” answers.
Lesson no.3: Every storywriter must be honest, straightforward and willing to share not only personal stories about himself but about others whose stories are worth telling. Everything Ricky Lee told us and shared felt genuine and incredibly human, and perhaps this is why his scripts win awards, touch hearts, change minds, and become unforgettable, cultural touchpoints. Ricky is incredibly down to earth and honest, something that is rare in the industry he moves in.
I learned so much, and I was thrilled when I was one of those whose story outlines he chose to share and discuss with the class. I appreciated my classmates’ constructive and useful feedback, and I was energized by Ricky’s advice on how to move the story forward.
Lesson no.4: More than writing scripts, Ricky taught us how to uncover stories…out of an imaginary box that is hidden in each and everyone’s life. A writer must be able to establish a person’s history and context, clearly see what is holding them within the box, and set it free. It seems incredibly simple, but as we all realized, this process can be a lot more complicated, difficult, and painful.
The most basic premise of all stories, as he shared with us (and explained in his book“Trip to Quiapo,” is that all people are trapped in a box—nakakahon, as it is beautifully expressed in its Filipino translation. Throughout a story, each person has a need or a goal, and they need to free themselves from that box to get it.
Lesson no. 5: Pain and difficulties are part of the writing process. As Ricky stated: all stories are political because they are written and made with a specific point-of-view, no body of work can ever be neutral. Everyone has their beliefs, and these will—and should—appear.
“Kailangan mong masaktan paulit-ulit sa pagsusulat,” he stressed. Everything he said felt like a hugot quote, but isn’t one’s painful truth the core of hugot? Without conflict, he says of scripts, there is no growth—and thus, there is no story.
More than formatting and pitching, this is what we needed to learn about scriptwriting. This is what we needed to learn about humanity. It is simply incredible that through his movies and his workshops, Ricky Lee has been teaching us how to understand and empathize with each other.
This year, almost a year after our workshop, it was announced that Ricky was named National Artist for Film and Broadcast. Together with his countless followers and the rest of the country, I celebrated and sent him my congratulations. With his huge and historical body of work made up of more than 180 film screenplays, books, and more, he has truly changed the way that stories are told and understood in the Philippines.
This National Artist has no plans of retiring, and says that writing for film is like breathing. If he stops writing, it will be like he’ll stop breathing too.
I am honored to have experienced Ricky Lee’s teaching and I know that his impact will only continue to grow. I look forward to more stories that he writes and creates, and to the hopeful and heartful ones coming from people he’s taught, inspired, and touched.
PR Matters is a roundtable column by members of the local chapter of the United Kingdom-based International Public Relations Association (Ipra), the world’s premier association for senior communications professionals around the world. Joy Lumawig-Buensalido is the President and CEO of Buensalido PR and Communications. She was past Chairman of the Ipra Philippine chapter for two terms.
PR Matters is devoting a special column each month to answer our readers’ questions about public relations. Please send your questions or comments to askipraphil@gmail.com.