what it felt like
Currently in dissemination
Single Channel, Self Reflexive, Poetic Visual Essay.
Chronicling an autobiographical year in four trimesters (how the timeline of pregnancy and the first 12 weeks after pregnancy is divided) with emphasis on the physicality of conception, pregnancy, labor, birth and unprocessed trauma on the mind and body. The creation of the film explores the convergence of digital smartphone applications and analog 8mm celluloid film stock. Depicting a raw portrait of the often fragmented romanticization of memory and how we psychologically process the stages of our experiences, what it felt like explores the journey a birthing parent takes within their own body and how much of that physical and mental conversation happens internally; in silence.
The same week I found out I was pregnant, Roe V. Wade was overturned and as my pregnancy quickly became high risk, my mental state had a permanent ticker tape of current events compounded with my own anxieties. This personal account of a pregnancy and birth experience prompts universal conversations regarding the social injustices surrounding body autonomy. The viewing experience may prompt viewers into processing or sharing their own fertility and birth stories and ultimately why a person should have authority over decisions for their own body as a minimum.
Awards & Recognition
Honorary Award for Efforts in Social Filmmaking, Activists Without Borders Film Festival, UK, 2025
University System of Maryland Women’s Forum Grant
College of Fine Arts and Communication Research Award, Towson University
Gallery Exhibitions
“Our Bodies, Our Stories” Exhibition, Reproductive Justice of Maryland, 2025
Screening & Panelist, Spark Panel Discussion: Kinships & Entanglement – Bodies, Gender & Generational Memory. The Peale Museum.
“Industrial Afterglow: SPARK Baltimore”, the Peale Museum,Maryland, 2025
Film Festival & Academic Conferences
Hobnobben Film Festival, Indiana, 2025
Maryland Film Festival, Baltimore, Maryland, 2025
Morehouse College Human Rights Festival, Atlanta, Georgia, 2025
Revolutions Per Minute Film Festival, Harvard University, 2025
UFVA National Conference, USA. Peer Reviewed Screening, 2025
Vermont College of Fine Arts, Guest Lecture & Screening, 2025
Our Time Kitchen
Currently in post production.
Single Channel Documentary Feature
Directed by: Jena Burchick
Produced by: Jena Burchick & Boob Sweat Films
Our Time Kitchen is the documentary of two Baltimore chefs, Cat Smith (she/her) and Kiah Gibian (she/they) as they race against the clock to build and open a shared commercial kitchen, called “Our Time Kitchen,” which will support BIPOC women, LGBTQIA+ folkx, and immigrants as they create sustainable businesses of their own. Chefs Cat and Kiah are a powerhouse team that came together out of years of resilience and experience surviving Baltimore’s food system. They believe that it is time for a new collective kitchen model and over the next year, they will race the clock to realize their dream.
You can follow the journey of chefs Cat and Kiah here: @ourtimekitchenfilm
To Support Cat and Kiah’s Endeavor: @ourtimekitchen
Ora et Labora
Single Channel Documentary short
Directed by: Mark Burchick & Jena Burchick
What does it mean to follow one’s calling into an abbey and a brewery? Inspired by the growth of the American craft beer movement, a group of Catholic monks in Spencer, Massachusetts produces America’s first “Trappist-certified” beer, a historically European tradition that offers an opportunity for the community to preserve their unique way of life.
“Ora et labora” is Latin for “work and prayer,” and is the motto of the Christian monastic life.
Click on the image to view a teaser for the film.
Broadcast
Maryland Public Television – Forthcoming, March 2026.
Fresh Coast Film Festival Flashback. Compilation of shorts – WMNU-TV PBS, Michigan Public Television. March 10th, 2024.
Awards & Recognition
Peer Reviewed Screening.” Respondent: Broderick Fox of Occidental College. University Film and Video Association National Conference. July 14th, 2023. Online. Recipient of the juried Documentary Short Honorable Mention Award, and an honorarium.
Semi-Finalist – 2023 Flickers’ Rhode Island International Film Festival – August 2023
Best of Competition: Sound Engineering and Design – 2024 Broadcast Educators Association Media Arts Festival – April 2024.
Official Selection
Ocean City Film Festival, USA, 2025
American Academy of Religion, Western Region Conference. University of Nevada, Las Vegas. March 15-17th, 2024.
Kanab Film Festival, UT, USA, 2024
Charlotte Film Festival, USA, 2023
Flicker’s Rhode Island, Providence, RI, USA 2023
Fresh Coast Film Festival, USA 2023
UFVA National Conference, USA, 2023.Peer Reviewed Screening. Respondent: Broderick Fox of Occidental College.
Mom & M
See Mom & M page for more information, how to connect about the film and all other inquiries.
A Regional Emmy Award Winning Feature-length Documentary
Directed, Produced, Filmed & Edited by: Jena Burchick
Produced by: Lux Daze Media & Jessica Baroody-Saada
Mom & M is an intimate portrait of modern American parenthood. Meet Nikki, a transgender writer; Elise, a social media influencer; and Sansa, their adopted daughter who battles leukemia. Together they navigate what happens when your partner comes out as transgender while caring for an ill child and that remission is not the end to life’s challenges.
Broadcast
2022-2024 Maryland Public for continuous television air dates on MPT & MPT2 as well as online digital streaming.
Awards & Recognition:
Emmy Nomination and Winner, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, National Capital Chapter. Category: Cultural/Topical Documentary. 2023
Best Short Film, Virginia Queer Film Festival, VA, USA, 2023
Best LGBTQ Film, Wine, Women & Film Festival, LA, USA, 2022
Docs Without Borders, Award of Excellence, DE, USA, 2021
Semi-Finalist, Lake Travis Film Festival, TX, USA, 2021
Award of Merit for LGBTQ content, IndieFest Film Awards, CA, USA, 2021
Film Festivals & Academic Conferences
Virginia Queer Film Festival, VA, USA, 2023
Wine, Women & Film Festival, LA, USA, 2022
Vancouver Queer Film Festival, Vancouver, Canada, 2022
Rainbow Visions Film Festival, Alberta, Canada, 2021
Middlebury New Filmmakers Festival, VT, USA, 2021
We Make Movies Film Festival, LA, USA, 2021
UFVA National Conference, Virtual, USA, 2021
Bentonville Film Festival, Documentary Competition, AK, USA, 2021
OUTSOUTH Queer Film Festival, SC, USA, 2021
Docs Without Borders, DE, USA, 2021
Maryland Film Festival, MD, USA, 2021
North Beach American Film Festival, MD, USA, 2021
Translations: Seattle Transgender Film Festival, Seattle, USA, 2021
Lake Travis Film Festival, TX, USA, 2021
Indy Film Fest, IN, USA, 2021
The IndieFest Film Awards, CA, USA, 2021
Click on the image to view the trailer.
The Local Oyster Stout
A Regional Emmy Award Winning Documentary short
Directed by: Jena Burchick & Mark Burchick
An oyster farmer, a shucker, and two brewers create Maryland's first farm to table Oyster Stout beer, reviving a time-honored tradition. The Local Oyster Stout hopes to bridge our passion for growing up around the water, supporting small businesses, and drinking good beer into a captivating story to share with friends, family, and those who thirst for connection (and beer!).
Broadcast
Maryland Public Television, Public Broadcast Programming TV & Web, April 23, 2020- ongoing annual broadcast
Awards & Recognition:
Emmy Nomination and Winner, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, National Capital Chapter.
1st Place Award Winner, Wild Side Shorts, Fish and Wildlife Film Festival
Official Selection:
Sierra Nevada Film Fest, USA, 2018
Food Film Fest, Prague, 2018
Les Bois Film Fest, USA, 2018
Fish and Wildlife Film Fest, USA, 2018
Fresh Coast Film Fest, USA, 2018
Life and Sciences Film Fest, Prague, 2018
Philadelphia Environmental Film Fest, USA, 2018
Water Docs Film Fest, Canada, 2018
Chesapeake Film Fest, USA, 2018
Click on the image to view the full film.
Dear Country
Single Channel Docu-narrative short
Directed by: Jena Burchick
Four brave women share their unique paths to the 2017 Women’s March on Washington.
Created in response to the 2016 presidential election and hopes for American women after Trump’s election.
This film was created in support of the Women's March by an all female cast and production crew.
Awards & Recognition
Made In Baltimore Short Film Fest & Colorado International Activism Film Fest
Official Selection
The 2025 Film and Video Poetry Symposium, Pasadena, Ca, 2025
Our Stories Virtual Film Festival, Towson University, USA, 2020
Annapolis Film Fest, USA, 2018
Short to the Point, Bucharest, 2018
Eve Film Fest, Canada, 2018
Cardiff Mini Film Fest, UK, 2018
Race to Justice, USA, 2018
Global Peace Film Fest, 2018
Made In Baltimore Short Film Fest, USA, 2018
Born In Baltimore Film & Photography Fest, USA, 2018
Click on the image to view the full film.