Spanish director Victor Erice, who was absent from the Cannes Film Festival premiere of his film Close Your Eyes, has posted an open letter criticizing festival Delegate General Thierry Frémaux over his handling of the selection of his film and explaining his decision not to attend.
Revolving around an investigation into the disappearance of an actor during a film shoot, Close Your Eyes is Erice’s first feature in three decades.
The film premiered to strong reviews on May 22 in the Cannes Premiere sidebar, created in 2021 to welcome films from more established filmmakers, with key cast Helena Miquel, Jose Coronado, Ana Torrent, Manolo Solo and María León in attendance but without Erice.
In an open letter posted on the website of Spain’s El Pais newspaper on Thursday, Erice said he had submitted the film to Official Selection as well as the Cannes parallel section of Directors’ Fortnight.
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