Davaoeña playwriter gets Singaporean offer
By Nef Luczon, Mindanao TIMES correspondent
THE writer behind the recent Cinemalaya entry Gulong that starred Gary Valenciano is a proud Davaoeña.
Palanca awardee Jeanne Lim grew up in the Chinatown area of Sta. Ana, and finished her high-school at the Chinese school, Davao Central High School, at the corner of Sta Ana Avenue and JP Laurel Avenue.
The 56-year-old Lim, a close relative of the prominent Limso clan in Davao whose family includes former councilor Robert Limso, once managed a snack inn named Queen’s (located near the Limso Memorial Hospital) where she used to cook different delicacies.
She left Davao some 23 year ago, and settled in Manila.
Her passion in writing had never come to her mind until she began learning the art of script writing 10 years ago.
When her marriage to a German national ended in 1996, her love for writing sparked.
“Instead na magmukmuk na lang sa bahay, I started attending script writing development programs,” she said.
She wrote the children’s story, Speedy and Jet, which gave her Palanca achievement in 1997. The one-act play, My Mommy Dearest, followed the next year.
In 2006, her story No Passport Needed, about a fugitive who sneak out of the country without a passport needed, was made into film by 18-year-old indie director, Pepe Diokno III who she fondly tagged as “young boy.” Lim appeared in that movie as old woman.
This year, her other story, Gulong (wheel), was made into movie by Sockie Fernandez. It starred the true-to-life couple Robert Arevalo and Barbara Perez with the support of Gary Valenciano and theme song by Christian Bautista. The movie, about a boy and his discarded bicycle that connects the past to the present, failed to win the major award in the recent Cinemalaya. But Lim is very proud of the movie.
In an interview with Davao reporters during her recent homecoming, Lim revealed that she has been invited to write a new story for a possible movie to be co-produced by Singaporean filmmakers.
Lim said she’s willing to work with Davaoeño film makers and artists.
“Don’t stop writing. Don’t give up. Don’t think that you’re no good,” she said and as for her encouragement to all those aspiring Davaoeños, “You’re never too old to learn, you’re never too late to start.”
