Ana M. Cetina created the sound design for What It Felt Like, a personal documentary by filmmaker and Towson University professor Jena Burchick that explores the layered emotions and physical intensity of pregnancy and early motherhood. The film weaves together poetic visuals, personal narration, and sensory memory to express what often goes unspoken about postpartum experience. Drawing from her own journey into motherhood, Ana approached the sound design with both intimacy and precision, blending ambient detail, tonal shifts, and dynamic spatialization to mirror the filmmaker’s emotional landscape. Carefully timed silences and fluid transitions between states of calm, stress, and vulnerability were central to creating an immersive audio experience that honors the interior complexity of the subject. The film has been featured in the Our Bodies, Our Stories exhibition for Reproductive Justice of Maryland (2025), screened at the UFVA National Conference (2025), presented at Vermont College of Fine Arts as part of a guest lecture and screening series, and continues making its rounds through film festivals.
Clip from What It Felt Like. Full film currently screening at festivals.