The movie
Cerrar los ojos
Spanish director Víctor Erice returns after a 31-year absence with Cerrar los ojos. With his signature style, Erice weaves together themes of loss, memory, and the power of cinema.
Length: 169 min
Country: Spanje
Language spoken: Spaans, Catalaans, Engels, Frans, Chinees.
Language subtitles: Nederlands
Cast: Manolo Solo, Jose Coronado, Ana Torrent
Director: Víctor Erice
Release date: 14/10/2025
Description
Spanish director Víctor Erice returns after a 31-year absence with Cerrar los ojos. With his signature style, Erice weaves together themes of loss, memory, and the power of cinema. The film requires patience and empathy, but those who give themselves over to it are rewarded with an experience that lingers long in both thought and feeling.
The story follows Julio Arenas, a well-known actor who mysteriously disappears during the filming of a movie, leaving behind an unsolved mystery. Years later, his story resurfaces when a television program airs previously unseen footage. This triggers a chain of events that brings old memories and hidden secrets back to the surface.
Not major titles like Anora, A Complete Unknown, or The Brutalist, but Cerrar los ojos was named Best Film of 2024 by The New York Times. Renowned film critic Justin Chang praised it as a true masterpiece. The film was screened at various international festivals, including Cannes and San Sebastián, where it received widespread acclaim and won the award for Best Direction. Cerrar los ojos never had a theatrical release in the Netherlands, making its screening at the 013IFF festival a rare opportunity to see this work on the big screen.
The story follows Julio Arenas, a well-known actor who mysteriously disappears during the filming of a movie, leaving behind an unsolved mystery. Years later, his story resurfaces when a television program airs previously unseen footage. This triggers a chain of events that brings old memories and hidden secrets back to the surface.
Not major titles like Anora, A Complete Unknown, or The Brutalist, but Cerrar los ojos was named Best Film of 2024 by The New York Times. Renowned film critic Justin Chang praised it as a true masterpiece. The film was screened at various international festivals, including Cannes and San Sebastián, where it received widespread acclaim and won the award for Best Direction. Cerrar los ojos never had a theatrical release in the Netherlands, making its screening at the 013IFF festival a rare opportunity to see this work on the big screen.
