Film Forum will present the US theatrical premiere of Víctor Erice’s CLOSE YOUR EYES, opening on Friday, August 23.

Centered around a lurid film-within-a-film, a mysteriously disappeared actor and the stalled late-career filmmaker who becomes obsessed with finding him, Erice masterfully paints a literal journey from Madrid to the Andalusian coast, and a profoundly poetic (and semi-autobiographical) one — through memory, disappointment, and, finally, the magic of cinema.

From the director of the beloved 1973 masterpiece THE SPIRIT OF THE BEEHIVE and EL SUR (1983), CLOSE YOUR EYES is Erice’s first feature film in 31 years after the 1992 Cannes award-winner DREAM OF LIGHT. CLOSE YOUR EYES had its world premiere at the 2023 Cannes Film Festival and was an official selection at Toronto, New York, San Sebastian and BFI London film festivals; won a special citation from the National Society of Film Critics; and earned ten Goya Award nominations, with José Coronado winning the Best Supporting Actor award.

Directed by Víctor Erice. Story by Víctor Erice. Screenplay by Víctor Erice, Michel Gaztambide. Starring Manolo Solo (Miguel Garay), José Coronado (Julio Arenas / Gardel), Ana Torrent (Ana Arenas), Petra Martínez (Sister Consuelo), María León (Belén Granados), Mario Pardo (Max Roca), Helena Miquel (Marta Soriano), Antonio Dechent (Tico Mayoral).