Summer Came Early

Synopsis

Èric (20) dreams that his skin is glowing in the sea, but he wakes up covered in confetti at his last chemotherapy session. Max, his boyfriend, the nurses, and his parents surprise him to celebrate. A few weeks later, the couple moves into a holiday home to spend some time together. That night, Èric tries to have sex, but Max notices he’s forcing himself and asks to stop. Èric hides in the bathroom, but ends up vomiting and can’t understand his body. Max finds him, but Èric shuts down emotionally.

The next day, at the beach, Èric sees Max talking to an attractive guy and feels insecure. He watches a group of young people playing ‘never have I ever’, but doesn’t feel part of it. He says he wants to go back home. Once there, he tries to be intimate with Max again, but it doesn’t work. Feeling ashamed, he leaves and wanders through the streets of Barcelona — lost, surrounded by young people heading out to party. Dizzy and surrounded by traffic, he asks a group of strangers for help. When he returns home, he hides under the covers in bed. Max comforts him with a gentle touch on the arm. Later, while treating one of his scars, Max feels attracted to his body. Èric rejects him and confesses, for the first time, that he hasn’t felt desire since he began treatment.

The next day they return to the beach, during golden hour. They play, touch, laugh. Èric smiles as they embrace. During blue hour, we see them in the sea, holding each other. Èric’s skin glows, and the light floods Max’s body.

The Essence of the Film

This project wants to explore the idea of the Mediterranean summer: summer love, warm light, intimacy revealed through swimwear, but contrasting it with a very different reality — that of a young person in recovery. The short film seeks to highlight the contrast between the imagery of youth, partying, and desire, and the experience of a body that has changed, one that cannot meet the expectations the world — and he himself — places on it. Summer here is not just a season; it is a space of vulnerability, of relearning the body and desire.

The two protagonists, Èric and Max, are young, in love, playful, and desire each other… but they must relearn how to communicate after a medical process that has transformed everything. Èric, the silent protagonist, is introspective and sensitive; Max, empathetic and affectionate, wants to care for him but doesn’t know how. The short film does not judge either of them: it portrays an intimate and complex situation rarely represented in film.

Where Is the Project Right Now?

Summer Came Early has been awarded a Barcelona Crea Grant from Barcelona City Council. It has also received an Ignite Fund through the University of Westminster.

The script was selected for a residency at the Centre d'Art i Natura de Farrera, where it was mentored by Arnau Vilaró, screenwriter of Alcarràs (2022). Recently, the script has been selected as a finalist in the Raindance Script Competition.

In addition, Fundació Kālida and Mi Compañero de Viaje, organisations that support people affected by cancer, with a special focus on young adults, are supporting the project and our social media impact campaign.

Funding

This project is being developed independently from major production companies and institutions. Along the way, we have secured part of the funding to make the project possible, but we need one final push, and this crowdfunding is the step we need to take. Your collaboration will help us bring it to completion.

Why We Are Making This Film

This project stems from my own experience: I had cancer at the age of 20. For nearly a year, I went through intense treatments and surgeries that changed my life. As a filmmaker, I feel compelled to highlight a reality that exists but is rarely represented, especially among young people. The short film presents a new take on issues like loss of desire, reconnecting intimacy between partners, and the personal journey of rebuilding identity.

With this short film, we aim to:

• Present a different view of cancer than commonly depicted in film and TV, focusing not only on treatments but also on the quiet moments in between.

• Explore how the side effects of treatment affect desire, sexuality, and romantic relationships, a topic that remains largely underrepresented.

• Give visibility to cancer in young people — a reality that remains largely overlooked in the media. Teen and young adult patients often fall between paediatric and adult oncology, with no peers or age-specific references in hospital settings. This short film aims to give them both a voice and a place in the narrative.

• Convey a message of hope by celebrating meaningful emotional relationships beyond sex — and showing that they too can have a happy ending.

With your help, we can make this story reach many more young people who deserve to see themselves reflected with honesty and sensitivity.

Production and Directing Team

Miquel Sierra Altarriba – Writer and Director
Director, writer, and production freelancer working between Barcelona and London. He directed the music video Bailoteo for The Tyets, with over 4.1M views and a finalist at the Enderrock Awards for Best Music Video of the Year, as well as music videos for Victoria Caro (300K–700K views on YouTube).

He combines directing with production work. He has worked in the production office of Bird (2024) by Andrea Arnold and led sustainability on The Thing with Feathers (2025), starring Benedict Cumberbatch. Recently, he was part of the sustainability team on the second season of Hijack (Apple TV+), and he currently works as a Business Coordinator at the BBC.

Paula Pallarès Vélez de Villa – Producer
With over five years of experience in the film industry, she has produced several short films, music videos, and creative shoots. She currently works as a post-production sound coordinator and has collaborated on film projects like Salve Maria (2024) and for platforms like Netflix (Asalto al banco central, 2024; La última noche en Tremor, 2024), HBO, and 3Cat (Pubertat, 2025).

Sienna Beckman from Emergence Films – Executive Producer
Producer based in London and Seattle, committed to supporting women filmmakers and underrepresented storytellers. She has worked in Los Angeles and produced content for NBC Universal, Refinery29, Prettybird, and Disney Maker Studios. Her short film Birthday Boy had Jean-Marc Vallée as executive producer and was distributed on HBO. She also worked on Queens of Mystery (Acorn TV) and Eat, Love, London (2024). Most recently, she produced the feature films Ingress (2023) and Inheritance (2024), both available on Amazon Prime.

Artistic and Creative Team

Romà Cots – Director of Photography
He began his career as a lighting technician in the UK after graduating. Since moving to Barcelona in 2020, he has worked in the film and advertising industry alongside renowned gaffers and DOPs. Over the past year, he has taken on projects as a gaffer and best boy (Who is Erin Carter, Zalando for CANADA).

Arianna Miuccio – Art Director
She has worked as an art department trainee on films such as Mamífera (2024) by Liliana Torres, awarded at SXSW. She has also led the art direction for music videos such as Bailoteo (2022) for The Tyets and short films like Fifteen Love (2021), Extraviado (Pausa Dramàtica Films, 2024), and was part of the art department for the short film Ser Un Hombre (Sumendi, 2025).

Arnau Jurado – Casting Director
After working at LANE Casting for over two years, he is beginning his journey as a casting director with Summer Came Early. He has worked in the casting department on films such as Mala influencia (2024), La niña de la cabra (2024), and The Road Trip (2025), and on TV series like Legado (2024), Mariliendre (2025), and Olympo (2025).

Maria Mora – Editor
An assistant editor on Filme i Paxaros Voando (2024, Zeltia Outeiriño) and the series Bandidos (2024–25, Netflix), she has worked on Astronauta (2024) by David Matamoros and Pubertat (2025) by Leticia Dolera. She has edited music videos like Bailoteo (2022, The Tyets) and the Sónar 2025 campaign, as well as several short films (Recuerdo Dormido, Esperar Trenes, Hijos de Mayo).

Paloma Bercovich – Stills Photographer
Filmmaker, photographer, and director of photography. She studied Audiovisual Communication at UPF and Authorial Documentary Photography at El Observatorio. She co-created and directed photography for the documentary feature Dabruneba (2025, in distribution), and has worked in the directing department of feature films such as Unicornios by Àlex Lora (2023) and Mediterráneo by Marcel Barrena (2021). She is currently moving into the camera department and is in the midst of developing her next project, Refugi.

Industry Support

Several industry professionals are familiar with the project and have formally expressed their support.

Pep Garrido. Director, Screenwriter, and Producer.
Founder of the production company Atiende Films. Co-director with Xesc Cabot of the feature film Sense sostre (2019), and co-writer of Desmontando un elefante (2024).

Laurence Cooper. Production Executive and Production Coordinator.
As a production executive at See-Saw Films, he was part of projects like Slow Horses (2022–Present), Heartstopper (2022–Present), and The Essex Serpent (2020).

Anna Bacardit. Music Video Producer at CANADA.
Creator of projects such as Ràdio Pati and the short film Com Sempre (2025), she has produced music videos for artists such as Rosalía, Bad Gyal, Amaia, and Tini.

Arnau Vilaró. Director and Screenwriter.
He worked in the directing department of Estiu 1993 (2017) and later co-wrote Alcarràs (2022) alongside Carla Simón, winner of the Golden Bear at the 72nd Berlin International Film Festival.