Nery posts 3 Palanca wins – Peter Solis Nery

MANILA – Ilonggo author and Panay News writer Peter Solis Nery won three awards in this year’s Carlos Palanca Awards for Literature.

His winning entries include first prize for Hiligaynon short story (“Donato Bugtot”), second prize for full-length play in English (“If the Shoe Fits: Or, The Five Men Imelda Marcos Meets in Heaven”), and second prize for poetry written for children in English (“The Shape of Happiness and Other Poems”).

“I am glad to know that I am still in top form as far as writing is concerned. My Hiligaynon win validated the argument that I am a major master of the language. My English play confirms my playwriting skills, and my English poetry win promises the emergence of Peter the Poet in the national scene,” said Nery.

“Donato Bugtot” is about a deformed creature who gave one of his kidneys to his handsome twin brother.

Nery, who hails from Dumangas, Iloilo, has won six other Palanca awards since 1998.

Among his top prize entries are “The Passion of Jovita Fuentes” (full-length play in English), “Candido” (Hiligaynon short story), and “Lirio” (Hiligaynon short story).

Nery is a Philippine Centennial Literary Prize winner for screenplay in 1998, and a Cultural Center of the Philippines Literature grantee for Hiligaynon Poetry in 1992.

In 2001, he won a special jury prize in the Cinemanila International Film Festival Scriptwriting Contest.

The Ilonggo author has published 15 publications to date—“100 Erotic Sonnets from the Hiligaynon” (2010), “The Prince of Ngoyngoy’ (2001), “A Loneliness Greater than Love’ (2000), “My Life as a Hermit” (1998), “Moon River, Butterflies, and Me” (1997), “The Essential Thoughts of a Purple Cat” (1996), “First Few Notes of a Green Symphony” (1994), and “I Flew a Kite for Pepe” (1993), among others.

“I am grateful that I can balance my writing and nursing job,” he said.

Dabadaba: a YouTube sensation

Peter Solis Nery’s “Dabadaba,” a short film about a very special friendship between an American volunteer and his Filipino guide has become a new YouTube sensation. Here are some stats:

Posted on YouTube: 10/21/2010

First day hits: 435 views

Second day hits: 1,496 views

Third day hits: 1,866 views

Fourth day hits: 2,220 views

Fifth day hits: 2,472 views

Total pages of shooting script: One

Total footage taken: 107 minutes

Film length: 5.26 minutes

Shooting days: Four

Editing days: Three

Principal cast: Four

Crew/Assistant to Mr. Nery: One

Revenue-sharing offer: One

Dabadaba can be seen on YouTube. Search tags: ‘dabadaba: dumangas 2010,’ and ‘peter solis nery.’

It can also be accessed via Mr. Nery’s website, www.petersolisnery.com – videos section.

Facebook users can check out the movie link from the wall of ‘Peter Solis Nery.’