The documentary Un estel fugaç addresses perinatal bereavement, after Guerrero lost his son at the age of four months. Seven years later, the director decided to capture his experience in a revealing, emotional and deeply personal film. “Initially, I wanted to make a more observational documentary, focused on the story of other families, but Arturo convinced me to step in front of the camera. No one likes to exhibit their pain, but I think it was the most honest way to do it,” he explains.

Un estel fugaç is an emotional journey that tells the story of Pep’s death at the age of four months. According to the film’s synopsis, the starting point for the project was “this lack of understanding and loneliness [...] we observed in so many conversations with parents and professionals who are struggling in the ICU.” Guerrero's experience with the Neonatal and Paediatric Intensive Care Unit gave him glimpses of a harsh, unknown world. “It is one of the biggest taboos in our society,” he contends. “The aim of the film is to break this taboo so that parents can speak openly about their loss, accept the death of their child in the most natural way possible and live out their grief in a healthy way,” he adds.

In an interview on the 3cat television programme La Selva, Guerrero spoke about one of the most difficult moments in the process for him and the baby’s mother, Àgata, when, in week twelve of the pregnancy, they received the news that Pep would be born with a heart defect. “It was a pregnancy that became increasingly complicated with the heart condition,” recalls the family. “In the grieving process, you go through lots of different moments – fear, powerlessness, serenity, gratitude –, and making this documentary helped us find words for all this. It was like coming full circle,” affirms the alumni.

A project involving former students

A preview of the film was screened on 9 May 2024 at the DocsBarcelona International Documentary Film Festival. As many as eight former students took part in the production of the film, thanks to the connection between Ignasi Guerrero and UIC Barcelona.
After graduation, he founded the production company Btcom, created in 2010 following his time in the University’s Faculty of Communication Sciences.

During the 2024-2025 academic year, Ignasi Guerrero coordinated the extracurricular activity Filmmaking, which encourages Audiovisual Communication students to pick up a camera and dive into the world of filmmaking. “There is no better creative catalyst than feeling the need to tell a story. The most important thing is to take that first step, even if you don’t know exactly where it will lead you,” he concluded.