The Sangguniang Panlungsod of Mabalacat City has recognized a native of Barangay Poblacion for his feat in the film industry.
The city council has conferred Resolution No. 467, Series of 2016 to Roberto P. Tantingco, current Director of the Center for
Kapampangan Studies at the Holy Angel University (HAU), Angeles City, for bagging the Best Screenplay award for the film “Ari: My Life with a King” in the Gawad Urian 2016 and Metro Manila Film Festival 2015.
“The members of the city council led by Vice Mayor Christian Halili went out of their way to give recognition to their fellow
Mabalaqueños like me for our accomplishments. That speaks well of the members. I hope they will continue doing it to more Mabalaqueños who deserve it,” Tantingco said.
In his short gratitude speech at the city hall, he also quoted two of the greatest poet laureates of Mabalacat namely Querubin Fernandez Jr. and Lionel Dizon.
“I thought of the two departed poet laureates of Mabalacat because the film Ari was really about them and for them — how they struggle in obscurity to keep the Kapampangan language alive,” he added.
“Ari: My Life with a King” is a Kapampangan indie film produced by HAU and directed by a student named Carlo Enciso Catu which aims to preserve and promote local cultures and regional languages. The story evolves on a boy portrayed by Ronwaldo Martin (actor Coco Martin’s younger brother) who doesn’t know or want to speak in Kapampangan, until he runs into a
compelling but weird character known as the king of Kapampangan poets named Conrado, played by Kapampangan poet Francisco Guinto.