blackbot
productions
stories that remember us.
From filmmaker JULIAN SIBAL - creator of Jake the Failure and the up coming feature Floating in Riverview
I make films about human connection - and about people.
At BLACKBOT PRODUCTIONS, we focus on stories that try to understand what it means to be human — the way we connect, the way we drift, and the quiet moments in between.
Much of the work comes from our nature: the desire to love and be loved, and the ways that longing shapes who we become.
These are the stories we aim to tell — truths revealed in small gestures, in what’s left unsaid, and in the choices that move us forward.
Floating in Riverview grows from that same place: a film about people finding each other, losing each other, and learning how to keep going.
About Julian Sibal
JULIAN SIBAL is an award-winning filmmaker and founder of BLACKBOT PRODUCTIONS. His work centers on grounded, human stories about connection, identity, and the small moments that shape us. Floating in Riverview is his debut feature film.
Floating in Riverview
A coming-age-age story about
love, distance, and the idea of home.
FLOATING IN RIVERVIEW follows Ethan, a pizza-shop employee and community-college student, and Mona, a classmate chasing her dream of becoming a doctor.
Set in a fictional Northern California town inspired by my own hometown, the film explores love, ambition, and the quiet spaces in between - where we learn who we are and what we’re willing to lose.
It’s about the small moments that shape us - the late-night drives, the quiet conversations that never quite say enough, and the roundabout ways we try to reach each other without ever fully getting there.
A story about people finding each other, losing each other, and learning what it means to move forward.
Past Work
A selection of grounded, human stories that helped shape our voice.
Jake, the failure (2023)
125K+ views on Million Youth Media
Best Director & Best Screenplay — 2023 Fil-Am Creative Film Festival
Audience Award — 2023 San Diego Filipino Film Festival
Audience Award — Indie Shorts Mag “Short of the Year,” 2023
Jake the Failure follows a parking attendant who dreams of becoming a writer — and the quiet, personal struggle of trying to believe in yourself when it feels like no one else does.
Through the Glass (2017)
A man in a coffee shop tries to make a connection with a woman he sees outside his window — a small moment of risk and courage that turns an ordinary day into something quietly magical.
Independent films come to life because people believe in them. If this story resonates with you, there are a few ways to help make it real — through support, investment, or simply sharing the project with others.
Help Bring
Floating in Riverview to Life
All support — financial or otherwise — helps bring this film to life.