Private Project

Black Sky

This film is about a woman's body in constant transition.

About how our bodies are reconfigured through pain - the kind that only we know about.

About how pain determines our identity as a woman - menstruation, childbirth, perimenopause, menopause.

About how we navigate the world with our new identities - even the ones we don't completely understand.

This film is about my body in constant transition.

  • Jen J. Balberona
    Director
  • Jen J. Balberona
    Writer
  • Bakunawa Productions
    Producer
  • Allan Balberona
    Sound and Editing
  • Project Type:
    Documentary, Experimental, Short
  • Runtime:
    9 minutes 9 seconds
  • Completion Date:
    March 23, 2018
  • Country of Origin:
    Philippines
  • Country of Filming:
    Philippines
  • Shooting Format:
    Digital
  • Aspect Ratio:
    16:9
  • Film Color:
    Black & White and Color
  • First-time Filmmaker:
    No
  • Student Project:
    No
  • Festival De Cine Paz Mindanao
    Zamboanga
    Philippines
    December 3, 2019
    Philippine
    Special Jury Prize
  • Cinema Rehiyon 12
    Naga City, Camarines Sur
    Philippines
    February 25, 2019
    Philippine
    Official Selection
  • Gawad Urian Awards Nominee for Best Short Film 2020
    Manila
    Philippines
  • Festival International Signes de Nuit 2020
    Paris
    France
    October 1, 2020
    International
    Official Selection
  • Pista ng Pelikulang Pilipino
    Manila
    Philippines
    October 31, 2020
    Philippine
    Official Selection _ Regional Shorts
Director Biography - Jen J. Balberona

Jen J. Balberona (1975) Graduated from University of Santo Tomas with a Bachelor's Degree of Fine Arts major in Advertising. She is a filmmaker, producer, and co-founder of Bakunawa Productions, an independent creative production house based in the Philippines.

Her first short, SIGBIN, showcased her signature style of interspersing still images and video into her works. It screened at the 2017 International Short Film Festival in Oberhausen, Germany as part of The One Minute film series "Nightmares of the Sun" curated by Khavn Dela Cruz.

Currently, she’s filming her first documentary regarding women’s right in the Philippines all through Duterte’s rule.

Add Director Biography
Director Statement

To quote Magnolia Miller, women’s health advocate and founder of The Perimenopause Blog,
"It is a frightening thing to feel so totally out of control of your body and your emotions. It causes no end of despair for many women.”

Through this film, I wanted to share my own experience of how I’m (still) coming to terms with my own body as it undergoes changes - both welcome and unwelcome - as I go through perimenopause.

And for other women going through perimenopause to know that they are (1) perfectly normal and (2) they are not alone. It’s just our bodies communicating that a better version of our self is coming.