Tintin's new 'baby'

Tintin Bersola recently launched her new “baby” — parentin.tv, an on-line parenting show. Tintin is one of the sweetest persons I know in this business. She loves to write and has published several books on children. She also bakes the most delicious brownies. Tintin is a devoted mother to Antonia and she has made it her advocacy to make parenting work in this country.

parentin.tv is also the first of its kind. “It is the first locally produced parenting webcast. I know this for a fact because one sleepless night, I surfed the Net and discovered that although there are so many parenting websites, they contain mostly blogs, tips, info, picture and video sharing but no format is run like a TV show,” Tintin explained.

Tintin who is married to ABS-CBN newscaster Julius Babao with whom she has a daughter Antonia said Julius broached the idea to her several years ago. “After searching the Net and seeing that what most websites offered were text content only, I knew it was time for me to launch the first on-line parenting show in the country.”

parentin.tv has unique features. A parent especially the busy ones with day jobs can watch past and present episodes anytime by just logging on to its site, www.parentin.tv. Tintin says there is no pressure ratings-wise because the show is web-based. “This is good because my main vision is to spread the advocacy of parenting. Unlike mainstream television broadcast, web-based TV has enough time for the show to build-up and create loyal web followers. “When pushing for an advocacy show like parentin.tv, the main objective is not to rate, but to fulfill a need, to address parenting problems, to inspire parents and families and to communicate between parents, children and families.”

In parentin.tv, current and past episodes are available 24/7. Registered members of parentin.tv can avail of free on-line consultations with doctors, teachers, professionals and other experts on parenting. They can also get exclusive invites to all parentin.tv events both on-line and on-ground, discounts from partner establishments, consumer promos, review guides to the best products, restaurants and destinations for the family.

Handumanan at Robinsons Galleria

Chin-Chin Gutierrez lends her talents to newbie filmmakers once more as she topbills the independent film Handumanan, which goes onscreen from Aug. 5 to 11 at Indie Sine (Cinema 8) of Robinsons Galleria.

Directed by Seymour Barros Sanchez from a script by Sanchez and Richard Legaspi, Handumanan tells the story of three people whose lives are burdened by bleakness and desperation — until their fateful encounter along the idyllic beaches of Negros Oriental. Chin-Chin, who plays romance novelist Sol Biglete (a.k.a. Soledad Miranda), becomes a beacon of hope and anchor to a government employee who dreams of becoming a writer (Jason Abalos) and a foreign model (Akihiro Sato) searching for his roots in the land of his mother’s birth.

Regarded as one of the country’s finest and most respected actresses for film and TV, Chin-Chin is no stranger to independent films. In 1996, already a Best Actress prize winner of the Asian Television Festival and Gawad Urian Best Supporting Actress, she played the female lead in filmmaker and advertising director Martin Arnaldo’s short film, Bloo, shot entirely in France. From then on, she has appeared in Sari Dalena and Keith Sicat’s Rigodon (2004), Gil Ponce’s Tall As Trees (2005), Wilfred Galila’s Pandanggo (2006) and Juan Miguel Sevilla’s Cul de Sac (2008). Because of her confidence in aspiring filmmakers and willingness to share her own wealth of experience in the industry, Chin-Chin creates space in her hectic routine of tapings (she will soon star in ABS-CBN’s primetime opus Dahil May Isang Ikaw) and advocacy work for the environment, to accommodate requests from neophyte directors.

“It all starts with a good script,” she shares. “If I find a compelling story that carries a lot of potential for cinematic exploration, I get keyed up. I also consider the implications of the story and motivation of the characters, particularly the one I’m playing, and how she interacts with the rest. Values are also important. What are we imparting to the audience? What will they take home with them? Even the darkest, saddest themes can engage the viewers towards finding some light within themselves.”

Handumanan (Visayan for remembrance), shot along the shorelines of Dumaguete, Zambales and Cavite, also stars Jason and Akihiro. Lending able support are theater actors Dido dela Paz, Gina Lumauig, Lexter Tarriela and Nadie May Orillana. The film is a grant recipient of the National Commission on Culture and the Arts, and was among eight films chosen to compete at the recent Cinemalaya-Netpac (Network for Promotion of Asian Cinema) Award.