SAN JUAN
Carmen Ros
Spain/Serbia
Lluna (8) is torn between welcoming and resisting change when, two years after losing her father, her mother brings a new man into their family rite.
Photo by Alexander James
SYNOPSIS
On her first night of San Juan, an ancient celebration that marks the beginning of summer, Lluna (8) is faced with the possibility of change when, a few years after the loss of her father, her mother invites a man with whom she shares a special bond to join their family rite. As the celebrations unfold amidst bonfires, rituals, and waves, Lluna wrestles between curiosity and jealousy. Finally, the night culminates in an inability for both mother and daughter to complete the ancestral ritual of San Juan and welcome the new.
INTENTION
This short film was born from a deep desire to see my mother in all her complexity. After my father passed away, we began a life as a family of three: my sister, my mother, and I. For us, moving on simply meant to keep going. During those years, a side of my mother became unknown to us, almost nonexistent: her desire for a romantic relationship. Inspired by hazy childhood memories, I crafted a story that explored another possibility for moving on after a deep loss by facing the protagonist, an eight-year-old girl, with her mother’s new partner. Both curious and jealous, Lluna struggles between welcoming and resisting change. Finally, mother and child decide that they are not ready to move on just yet. Their rite of passage fails. Told entirely from Lluna’s POV, the film invites us to reclaim our inner child’s gaze: curious, observant, inquisitive. Through it, we may see our mothers anew – recognising their desire and their need to transcend motherhood. It is the film’s intention to embrace these needs by acknowledging how strong the mother–daughter bond remains, especially in the context of loss.
DIRECTOR
Carmen Ros Lloret
Carmen Ros is a Spanish writer/director. She worked as a PA and script reader in Berlin and was awarded a fellowship by La Caixa Foundation to study a Screenwriting MA at UAL (UK). After directing her first short film Querida vecina (2023), she now tells stories rooted in her origins with an international team, where she feels most at home.
Andrijana Sofranić Šućur is a Serbian producer working across documentary, fiction, and animation. She holds an MA in Classical Studies and is the co-founder of Set Sail Films. Her films 78 Days and When the Phone Rang premiered at Rotterdam and Locarno in 2024. Since 2023, she has been Head of Industry at Beldocs IDFF. She is a member of the EFA.
andrijana.sofranic@gmail.com
PRODUCER
Andrijana Sofranić Šućur
Genre
Drama
Length
15 min
Language
Valencian, Spanish
Shooting location
Valencia, Spain
Production company
SUICAfilms (Spain), Set Sail Films (Serbia)
Estimated budget
€ 142.025
Secured funding
Producer’s own investment - € 5.000
Looking for
Coproducers, Sales, Distribution