Aside from writing, newly conferred National Artist for Film and Broadcast Arts Ricky Lee enjoys teaching aspiring storytellers, all with the hopes of creating the next generation of national artists. He enjoys it so much so that he is one of the board of directors for the Shout Out Festival happening this Sept. 19–25, 2022.

Ricky Lee isn’t showing signs of slowing down, even after decades of creating and writing award-winning pieces, teaching and mentoring thousands of writers and filmmakers, and inspiring many people with his stories. Most recently, he’s had a series of live interactive writing workshops titled, “Ricky Lee’s Trip to Quiapo,” which happened in November 2021 to January 2022 in partnership with Pelikulove. As a culminating program, Shout Out will feature nine (9) film and theater shorts from his enrollees as well as Palanca Hall of Fame Awardee Rody Vera’s writing masterclasses.

The Shout Out Festival

Shout Out: Maghayag at Lumikha is an online film and theater mentoring festival of hybrid shorts organized and hosted by the online multi-arts platform, Pelikulove, with the support of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA). 

Pelikulove describes Shout Out as an “education-based mentorship festival,” which is one of the few if not the first of its kind here in the Philippines. The writers of the featured film and theater shorts are given assistance from writing to production and evaluation. 

The festival activities include virtual discussions, talkbacks, and Q&A with the artists and mentors. There will also be an exhibit of other enrollees and partner groups’ short films and recorded plays. 

Ricky Lee is joined by six other Festival Directors, namely: Rody Vera (playwright, Palanca Hall of Famer, founder of Virgin Labfest & Writer’s Bloc), Jeffrey Jeturian (award-winning film and TV director), Cristina Martinez-Juan (professor, School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London), Issa Manalo Lopez (theater director, actor, and educator at UP Diliman), Raffy Tejada (theater director, actor, and educator at DLSU), and Ellen Ongkeko Marfil (filmmaker and videographer).

The Shout Out Festival is free! You can join or become a partner by registering online. For more information and updates, visit the Pelikulove website or follow the Pelikulove official Facebook Page. You can also email Pelikulove at [email protected].